Al, Kal and that other Warden!
by Alasse Nenharma
Summary: What if Duncan brought not one, but two recruits to Ostagar? The journey's of Alistair, Kallian and Aeden as you've never seen them before. These are the in between moment of the the game, what really happened on the road.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! I like to keep my disclaimers jolly, so therefore some character usually come and talk to us as a result! Sadly, as we do not know our characters yet, none shall make an appearance. In all seriousness, I really dont anything except the plot, and even most of that isnt mine. I plan on sticking pretty close to the original DA:O storyline, with the exception of an added warden, and some love interests. I am telling the story of the weeks and weeks we DON'T see in the game. I will try and avoid long dialog in the game, it gets monotonous after a while, and I wont add character descriptions of people we already know.

DA:O

_**I miss you, miss you so bad  
>I don't forget you, oh it's so sad<br>I hope you can hear me  
>I remember it clearly<br>The day you slipped away  
>Was the day I found it won't be the same<br>I had my wake up  
>Won't you wake up<br>I keep asking why  
>And I can't take it<br>It wasn't fake  
>It happened, you passed by<strong>_

_**...Now you are gone  
>-Avril Lavigne, Slipped away<strong>_

Aeden Cousland walked behind Duncan in silence, staring at the path ahead of him, despair gripping his heart. His parents were dead, and Fergus could be too, but Duncan insisted they needed to go to Denerim before Ostagar. Frustrated he kicked a stone on the road, making his hound, Dane, whine in worry, and making Duncan look back, one eyebrow raised.

"We will be at the city by mid-day" Duncan stated kindly, making the young rogue nod his head, shamed at acting so childishly. Duncan had been nothing but kind, rescuing him from Arl Howes treachery. Reaching down he scratched Dane behind the ears, comtemplating what would happen in the city, if Arl Howe might expect this from them. After all, Aeden had no supplies, and Duncan had limited supplies, they might have guards waiting. Duncan, however, did not think so.

Within a couple of hours they were entering the city gates of Denerim, making their way to the market district. It was there that Duncan stopped and turned to Aeden, handing him a small pouch with some coins in it.

"I have business in the city, but you need supplies" the older man stated "buy what you need, and wait for me here" Aeden took the pouch and nodded to Duncan, who briefly put his hand on Aeden's shoulder before turning to leave, heading toward the alienage.  
>Aeden wandered the stands of the market, dealing with the vendors, getting supplies, and spare food to add to Duncan's pack. After a while the young lord had all he needed and settled down to wait for Duncan on a bench near the alienage. It was getting late in the day, and Aeden watched the sun's progress in the west. He couldn't believe this is where his life was leading. He was a Cousland, a proud son of a Teryn, or he was. Now, he was on the run from a currupt Arl who wished him dead.<p>

His thoughts trailed off to his family, but before long he saw Duncan approaching, a young female elf on his heels. She was armed, and carried a pack, but was looking around warily. Aeden supposed she was rather pretty, she had dark hair, pulled into a tight bun, and large green eyes that narrowed in suspision at every guard she saw. When Duncan reached him he seemed tense

"You are ready?" the older man asked, an edge to his voice

"Of course" Aeden said slowly, still looking at the elf "but what-"

"Later, we leave the city. Now." Duncan cut him off, but seeing the shocked expression on Aeden's face he added "we will soon experience trouble if we do not go"  
>Aeden glanced at the elf and saw she was scowling at them.<p>

"Of course, Duncan" Aeden said, hoping he would find out later what had transpired in the city while he was waiting, he lifted his pack and nodded to Duncan to let him know he was ready. With nothing more than a look to the elf Duncan took off swiftly, the she-elf on his heels once again, leaving Aeden and Dane to trot behind.

DA:O

Kallian was right behind Duncan as they left the alienage, but even being with another shem, she might have questions asked. She noticed that the Grey Warden, her soon to be commander, was heading to another, much younger shem, and a large mabari hound. Duncan was tense as he spoke to the young man, who looked to be a companion, and they soon set out of the city.

They walked quickly to the gate, avoiding guard when they could, for Kallian's sake, as well as Duncan's, she would be difficult to explain she was sure. Her thoughts wandered to the young shem behind her, oh sure, he was handsome, with his shoulder length brown hair, dark eyes and aristocratic features, but he was sure to cause as many problems as Vaughn. Vaughn, she couln't believe what she had done. True, Soris and Shianni saw her as their hero, but what of Nelaros' family? Surely THEY wouldn't see her as a hero. It was true, she hadn't wanted to marry, and she didn't love Nelaros, but he had died to save her life, which was now forfeit. The guards made it very clear to her and Duncan, Grey Warden or no, next time she entered the city, she would be beheaded.  
>Duncan told her he wouldn't speak of what happened, unless she wished it, and she didnt't, so he promised to say nothing to anyone about her killing the arl's son.<p>

Soon they were far out of the city, unable to see it, when Duncan stopped, and turned off the road, moving into a clearing, setting his bag down near the middle, he turned to Kallian and the young shem.

"We will make camp here tonight" Duncan said "Aedan, please set up the tents, Kallian give Aeden your tent and go get firewood" Kallian nodded and bent down to get her tent from her pack, giving it to the young shem, Aeden. Before going off into the woods she made sure she had both her daggers and her bow, she didnt want to disgusting darkspawn sneaking up on her. With a glance around the area she set off to get wood, making sure she could hear the two shems in the camp

DA:O

Duncan watched as Kallian set off into the forest for wood, noting her wariness of young Aeden, smiling he started pulling out cookware, getting it ready for Kallian's return.  
>If given the chance, those two could be a dangerous pair, both rogues, Aeden more accomplished in the daggers, and Kallian in the bow, they would be nearly unstoppable if they tried, he was sure. However, only time would tell. They might not even survive the Joining. Duncan grimaced at the thought. Out of the four recruits he had, these two were the most promising. Yes, the other two waiting at Ostagar were talented, but they did not have the same devotion as these two.<p>

A sound at the edge of the camp alerted him of Kallian's return, and he glanced up at her.  
>She had her face set in grim determination, she was unhappy, who wouldn't be in her position? But she refused to show her anger and sadness at leaving her life behind.<p>

As she started building a fire next to him Duncan thought that maybe, just maybe, these two were exactly what the other needed.


	2. Chapter 2

Aeden: Hello everyone. Alasse is feeling lazy today and told Kallian and I to do the disclaimer.

Kallian: Indeed, she mumbled something about Duncan and working together, we also heard a mention of Lord of the Rings, Haldir and a good snuggle but that is a different story.

Aeden: And so, while lazy Alasse snuggles with Haldir, I would like to tell you, she owns nothing.

Kallian: If she did do you really think she would be on ?

DA:O

_**When all is lost to you inside,  
>when all the darkness takes the light.<br>The ritual warning has begun,  
>and now you tear away from everyone.<br>Disconnected, so alone, yeah.  
>Severed ties from all you know<br>-Alter Bridge, Isolation**_

That night in camp after they had eaten Duncan told them they would travel south, through the Hinterlands to the Korcari Wilds, where the King had assembled an army, driving back the darkspawn. The group was now huddled around the fire, Duncan was sharpening his sword, but the two recruits were silent, both staring into the fire, their thoughts far away.  
>Finally it seemed Dane had enough of the brooding silence, and barked, pulling the two rogues out of their reveries.<p>

"What, Dane?" Aeden asked with a small grin to the mabari "Am I not paying enough attention to you, boy?" the mabari growled, and gave Kallian a pointed look, causing Duncan, who was watching the whole affair, to chuckle. Smart hound. Aeden just rolled his eyes and scratched the mabari behind the ears. After several minutes Kallian shifted on the log she was sitting on.

"So, his name is Dane?" she asked carefully, not wanting to spark the shem's ire. Aeden looked up and nodded his head.

"Yes, unimaginative I know, but I've had him since I was young" Kallian smirked and looked at Dane.

"I think it is a fine name, for a noble beast" Dane barked his approval, making Kallian smirk again "he is very smart isn't he?" Aeden nodded, confirming his hound's intelligence. The two lapsed into silence again and Duncan watched them, but they seemed disinclined to talk further. Soon Kallian stood and streched, nodded to Duncan, and went into to her tent.  
>For a while, it was quiet in the camp, only the sound of Duncan's whetstone, Dane's heavy breathing, and the fire could be heard.<p>

"What happened in Denerim, Duncan?" Aeden suddenly asked, breaking the silence. Duncan sighed, and set his sword and whetstone to the side. He knew this would come up eventualy, and he had promised Kallian he would speak of it to no one, so he had to give thought to how he would phrase this. Looking up at Aeden's expectant face he sighed again.

"I cannot tell you much, other than I ran into trouble when I recruited Kallian" The older man saw Aeden about to ask another question but he held up his hand, forestalling it "If you wish to know more, you must ask Kallian, it is her tale" Aeden frowned, but didn't question him further, instead, he stood and said goodnight, slipping into his tent until his watch later that night.

Inside her tent, Kallian listened to the whole thing, and when Duncan told Aeden to ask her, that it was not his place, she felt a great surge of respect towards the Warden commander. Maybe this wouldn't be as terrible as expected.

DA:O

The next morning came swiftly, Kallian was last on watch, and she made them a simple breakfast as Duncan and Aeden slowly woke up. After swiftly eating they packed up camp and started the trek for the day. The day went by quickly, Kallian walked next to Duncan, asking about many things. Aeden followed behind, not quite sure what to make of her questions. These were things he learned as a child, What that mountain was over there, or what type of flower this was, or once she asked where Redcliffe was. Maybe he would ask her about it later, or maybe not, because Kallian didn't seem to trust him much. This morning when he approached her with her tent he must have gotten to close, and she took a large step back and told him just to leave it on the log, giving him a hard look, as if daring him to come closer.

"Aedan, do not walk into that tree!" SMACK! A little late, Aeden pulled himself from his thoughts, only to run into a large oak and sprawl to the ground. Shaking his head he looked up. Duncan and Kallian were on the road a few feet ahead, Duncan looked concerned, and Kallian? Well, she was trying not to laugh, not well, and it looked like Dane was going to join in with her, the traitorous hound. Walking over to him Duncan extended his hand.

"Are you alright" the older man asked in worry, pulling Aeden to his feet

"Only a wounded pride, I'm fine"

"You should pay more attention, those tree's like to jump out in front of you" this sent Kallian over the edge, she burst out laughing, causing Aeden to glare at her

"Of course Duncan, I will watch out for the jumping tree's" Aedan stomped off up the road, slamming his shoulder into the still chuckling Kallian. Duncan chuckled at Kallian, who was still trying to collect herself, and went after Aeden, the she-elf trailing behind.

DA:O

A couple hours later, only about an hour before they would stop, Kallian, who had moved to the front, froze, grabbing her bow, making the two men grab their weapons as well

"What is wrong Kallian?" Duncan whispered. What the elf said next made him wary.

"Tripwire"

"You think bandits?" Aeden whispered coming up to them, Duncan nodded, and as he did so six men came out of the woods ahead of them

"I'll get the tripwire" Kallian whispered "you just hold them off me" she gripped her bow, and slipped back behind them, disappearing into the woods, only seconds before the bandits attacked. moving swiftly she went to the tripwire and disabled it, before coming out of the shadows and taking aim at the nearest bandit, quickly taking him down. Soon, all six bandits were dead, and Duncan was cleaning his blades. Aeden kicked one of the dead men, rolling him over, and frowned

"These men had practically no armor, and their weapons are of pitiful make" he looked at Duncan quizically "why would they attack?"

"People do stupid things when desperate"

It was not Duncan that spoke, but Kallian. She was pulling an arrow out of one of the bandits, a sad look on her face. She cleaned the arrow on the dead mans clothes, and stuck it in her quiver, standing up. Turning to Duncan, she frowned

"Can we please leave soon? These shems stink already"

DA:O

That night in camp Aeden watched Kallian carefully as she inspected her arrows, checking for damaged fletching. She hadn't said anything since the fight earlier in the day, and she seemed to be keeping an even larger distance from him than before, as if he had been one of the bandits. Duncan had gone to sleep just after they had eaten, and had taken Dane with him, so it was just the two of them by the fire. Kallian knew he was watching, she would occasionally glance at him from the corner of her eye, like she was afraid he would suddenly leap at her.

"You are staring at me shem" she stated suddenly, not looking up from her arrow, and seemingly reading his mind "I would like you to stop"

"I'm not meaning to stare, I'm just wondering why you don't like me" that got her. She sighed, and put her arrow in her quiver.

"I do not dislike you, I simply don't trust you"

"Why? What have I done to make you distrust me so?" Aeden was a little irritated, did she think him a brute? She didn't even know him! Kallian frowned at him

"You're a noble aren't you?" the question was sudden and the young man was taken aback

"How did you know?"

"Have you ever been to an alienage?" these questions didn't make much sense

"No, but I had servants who were elven, and they didn't mind me" the elf smiled wistfully at him

"Then you can't understand my distrust of shems" she stated simply, irritating him more, did she think he was a fool? Aeden took a breath to calm himself then continued questioning

"Please explain what you mean? You said you distrust humans in general?" she hesitated before answering

"In the alienage in Denerim, us elves are treated" she paused, looking thoughtful "like objects. Men would come in, take the women of the alienage, use them as whores for drunken parties, then dump them back in the alienage" she trailed off and lost herself in thought, as Aeden stared at her in horror

"People actually do that? Just rape the women and get away with it?" she glanced at him and nodded, sadness etched on her face "what of the men?"

"If they get in the way, they kill them" she fiddled with a ring on her left hand, and Aeden saw it was a wedding band

"You're married?" he asked, causing her to frown deeper, and look at the ring on her hand

"No, my betrothed was killed, he got in the way" Aeden's eyes widened as he registered her meaning. That must have been what she meant earlier, on the road, her betrothed was desperate, and got killed because of it. Suddenly his own recent losses came rushing to the surface. They had both lost people, people they loved. He looked at the elf across the fire from him and felt she was a kindred spirit

"I'm sorry about your betrothed, if I could do something to change things in the alienage, I would" Kallian looked up at him, suspicious, but looked at the sincerity on his face, and softened

"Well, you ARE a noble" she said with a smirk, which dropped off her face as Aedens face fell

"Not anymore, my family was recently killed, as our home was attacked" he glared at the floor "I'm the last one left" now it was Kallian's eyes that widened

"I, I'm sorry. I had no idea-"

"No, don't worry, you couldn't have known, anyways, I should get some sleep" he stood, brushing himself off "wake me for my watch?" she nodded as he turned toward his tent.

"Aeden?" the young Cousland stopped and turned to the elf by the fire

"Yes?"

"I... Goodnight" Kallian said with a strange expression on her face

"Goodnight my lady" Aeden bowed, then ducked into his tent, falling asleep almost instantly

DA:O

Inside his tent Duncan was celebrating his secret success, those two looked like they were going to become fast friends, this trip would be much easier for both of them now. Not to mention Duncan. He didn't like people who talked to much, but the silence had been driving him insane. Turning to Dane, he chuckled at the look on the hound's face

"I was simply listening to make sure Kallian didn't cut off something Aeden might want later" Dane obviously wasn't convinced, and it showed. Still chuckling, Duncan layed down on his bed roll. Yes, Tomorrow would be MUCH easier.

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everyone! Right now, I have no Haldir to distract me and make me lazy, so I choose to do this disclaimer myself! I own none of this, because if I did A) I sure wouldnt be posting on . And B) I would have a sexy warrior somewhere that is all mine (Someone preferably from the LOTR fic area. With blonde hair. Who is a March warden). So to eliviate confusion, just assume Bioware owns all. Oh! on a side note, from now on the chapters are probably going to be longer, this one is for sure. I want to get Ostagar over and done with, I find it the most boring part of the game...

DA:O

_**Last Friday night  
>Yeah we danced on tabletops<br>And we took too many shots  
>Think we kissed but I forgot<br>Last Friday night  
>Yeah we maxed our credit cards<br>And got kicked out of the bar  
>So we hit the boulevard<br>Last Friday night  
>We went streaking in the park<br>Skinny dipping in the dark  
>-Katy Perry, T.G.I.F.<strong>_

The next morning Duncan got up, and saw his two warden recruits sitting around their small fire talking. The Warden smiled at his recruits and started to take down his tent.

"Duncan! Come have some breakfast!" Aeden held out a plate they obviously saved for him, nodding Duncan walked over and sat down, eating his breakfast. Kallian stared at him for a moment, watching as he ate his meal like it was his last.

"Do all humans eat like that?" she asked before she could stop herself. Duncan laughed, and Aeden waved his plate around.

"You don't see me wolfing down my food, and I'm a human" Kallian laughed and pretended to be shocked

"You ARE? Maker forgive me, I thought you were just a really tall dwarf!" this earned a chuckle from both men

"To answer your question Kallian, no. Not all humans eat like I do" Duncan replied "It's a warden thing, you will see" Kallian wrinkled her nose at the thought, making Duncan smile as he finished his food

"You will like being a warden, Kallian, do not doubt that" Duncan smiled "Comrades in arm we are, but we become family. I remember a few months ago my wardens decided to have a drinking competition, trying to drink one man under the table. He would drink two ales for every one the others drank. By the time I showed up everyone was passed out, and he was still drinking" that made Kallian and Aeden laugh

"I remember one time when Soris and I snuck to the Pearl, and we got so incredibly drunk that we thought it would be a good idea for us to sneak up to Arl Eamon's estate and dance naked in his fountain!" Aeden looked at her in horror

"That was YOU? I remember looking out the window and seeing two naked elves in the fountain, never did I think I would meet one of the insane elves that did that! Eamon was furious! But his brother, Teagan, thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen, otherwise you might have been flogged!" Aeden exclaimed before bursting into insane laughter, quickly followed by Duncan and Kallian.

Once they calmed down Duncan stood, handed Kallian his plate to clean, and once again began taking down his tent, and saw that Aeden was breaking his down as well. Very soon they were back on the road, but it wasn't the silent march it had been the last couple of days, it seemed any animosity that had been between Kallian and Aeden was gone, and they were well on their way to becoming friends, trading amusing stories, talking about training, and about how they grew up. Duncan prayed to the Maker that they would both survive the joining.

DA:O

Several days later they arrived at Ostagar, and at this point, Kallian and Aeden were never seperated unless sleeping, they were as thick as thieves.  
>When they got to Ostagar King Cailan met them at the gate, and Duncan introduced them, and they realized that the king did not take the blight seriously. Duncan informed them that the battle would probably happen that night, so they needed to move quickly. He sent them into camp to find Alistair, and the other two recruits, and told them once they found Alistair to meet him at the Grey Warden tent.<p>

Going into Ostagar Kallian was nervous, and stuck close to Aeden, who had become a close friend, despite the short time they had known each other. He knew she didn't want to talk about what happened in Denerim, just as she knew he didn't want to talk about what happened with his family. They both knew the other had lost a great deal though, and that they didn't have anything to go back to, and that thought, while not comforting, made them close to each other, Kindred spirits in a way. Going through the camp they stopped to ask a guard where the quartermaster was, when he pointed the man out to them they strode over to him. When the Quartermaster spotted Kallian his eyes narrowed

"You! Elf! What are you doing in that armor? And where's the other girl?" Kallian's eyes narrowed, but before she could even open her mouth Aeden had his dagger to the mans throat

"You will apologize to her, Quartermaster" Aeden spat "she is a Grey Warden recruit, not a servant" Kallians eyes widened as she looked at Aeden, shocked at his reaction.

"I apologize miss, I meant no harm!" Aeden lowered his weapon and put it back in it's sheath.

"Maybe you should start treating your servants better?" Kallian suggested "however, that is not why we are here, we need supplies, we have traveled a long way, and need to restock".

Once finished with the quartermaster they turned to make their way to where a guard had said the warden Alistair was, but found their path blocked by another man.

"So YOUR the other recruits we heard about, we were wondering when you would show up" Aeden glanced at Kallian, who had edged behind him slightly, obviously ill at ease with this man

"You are who exactly? Other than someone hindering our progress that is" Aeden said with a cold look in his eyes

"Ah, how rude of me, I sir, am Daveth, another warden recruit" he leered at Kallian who's hand itched toward her short sword. Aeden inclined his head a little and introduced them

"I am Aeden, and this is Kallian"

"Ah, a lovely name for a lovely lady" Daveth said, still leering. Aeden, knowing a bad situation when he saw one, changed the topic

"so what do you know about the Joining? Duncan didn't tell us much" Daveth frowned and leaned in conspiritorialy

"I think they're gonna send us into the wilds! I was sneaking around camp the other night and heard them talking about it!" Kallian scoffed at him

"So? the wilds don't scare me. I see a barbarian, and I shoot it. Simple" Aeden snorted in laughter but Daveth didn't look convinced

"It's all to secretive for me, makes my nose twitch" Kallian just gave him an annoyed look

"Well, if you excuse us, we have to meet someone" Aeden pushed past him, Kallian on his heels. When they were far enough away Kallian leaned in and whispered

"Which mans tent do you think he was sneaking away from in the dead of night?" Making Aeden snicker, before dissolving into giggles herself.

"Come on, we have to find this Alistair fellow" Aeden said then they stopped laughing, urging Kallian in front of him, toward the old temple. When they got there they saw a warrior arguing with a mage, who was, in Kallians opinion, a pain in the ass. When the warrior finaly got the mage to leave he turned to them and sighed

"You know, the best thing about this blight is how it brings us together" Aeden and Kallian looked at each other and started laughing, thinking about the Quartermaster and Daveth

"I know exactly what you mean" the warrior smiled

"It's like a big party! We could all stand around in a big circle and hold hand, give the darkspawn something to think about" he paused, and looked at Kallian and Aeden "wait, we haven't met have we? You aren't mages are you?" Kallian smirked at him

"What if I was a mage, would you be afraid I would turn you into a toad?" Aeden laughed and smacked her arm

"Come on Kallian be nice!" the warrior took a step back, looking fearful, but Aeden continued "she's just taunting you, thats her way of saying 'i dont hate you', to answer your question no, we haven't met, you must be Alistair?" The warrior relaxed a bit, but still watched Kallian with wary eyes

"I am, and you must be the recruits Duncan said he was bringing, I'm sorry I should have recognized you, not often you see an elf and a man scaring the troops threatening to turn them to frogs"

"Toads, toads are worse, more warts" Kallian said laughing "sorry about that, I was just having a bit of fun, I, as you heard, am Kallian, and this is Aeden" Alistair gave them a slight bow

"Nice to meet you, as the junior member of the order I will accompany you into the wilds to prepare for the joining, but we should get back to Duncan. Unless you two have any questions, lead on!" Kallian just looked at Aeden, giving him a look that said that she was NOT having some unknown male with a sword behind her. Understanding Aeden scrambled for a response

"Oh, er, see we only just got here, and we keep getting lost, maybe you should lead" Alistair just gave them a funny look and nodded, leading the way to the Grey Warden pavilion, where Duncan and Dane were waiting. When they got there Kallian and Aeden saw that Duncan was going to be all business, he told Alistair off for riling up mages and sent him to find the other recruit. On his return Duncan and Alistair introduced everyone to each other and Duncan told them their tasks in the wilds, which must be completed quickly.

And so they left for the wilds, Alistair in front, Kallian and Aeden behind him, and the other two recruits, Daveth and Jory, taking the rear guard, per Alistair's orders. They were walking quietly along, not far into the wilds when all the sudden Kallian yelped, making them all jump, as she whipped out her bow and pointed an arrow straight at Daveth's head

"I am pretty sure, shem, that when Alistair said rear guard he was NOT referring to MINE!" she growled "touch me again and you die" Daveth nodded, crossing his eyes to keep an eye on the arrow between them. Aeden glared at the 'fellow' from Denerim, and looked at Alistair

"I think Kallian and I will take rear guard" Alistair nodded and they moved into formation, moving forward once again. They slowly faught their way through the forest, collecting vials of blood, until they found old tower Duncan mentioned. Getting inside, Kallian ran to the chest, which was broken and declaired it was empty.

"Well well what have we here? A scavenger? Picking apart long cleaned bones? Or an intruder? Come to these darkspawn filled wilds of mine in search of easy prey? Speak quickly! Scavenger? Or intruder?" the group turned to find a scantily clad woman walking down the ramp towards them, Aeden answered her as she walked past

"We are neither, the Grey Wardens once owned this tower" she merely laughed, a cold, mocking sound

"'tis a tower no longer, the wilds have claimed it" Alistair pulled them back and grouped them together

"Careful, she looks chasind, at other might be near" she woman simply mocked them, and she and Alistair traded banter, while Daveth and Jory fussed about her being a witch of the wilds. Kallian scoffed and leant into Aeden

"I say we give her Daveth, let her turn him into a toad, and then go toad hunting" making him snicker. The witch noticed, and grinned at them

"You two, you do not frighten like the rest, tell me your names, and I shall tell you mine" Kallian looked at Aeden and shrugged. Why not? it was a reasonable request

"I am Kallian, and this is Aiden"

"Ah see, not so difficult! You may call me Morrigan" Kallian nodded and looked at Aeden, as Morrigan continued on, guessing their purpose, trading more words with Alistair. She claimed she did not remove them, and instead of letting Alistair continue his bickering with the witch Kallian sighed, and asked her who did.

"'twas my mother in fact" Kallian groaned, this meant more trecking through muck

"Can you take us to her?"

"Ah! now there is a reasonable request, I like you!" with a couple more comments from Alistair and Daveth they set off, following Morrigan to her mother.  
>Soon they reached a hut in the woods, and they met Morrigans mother, who had been keeping the documents safe from darkspawn, thanking her, they left, Morrigan leading them on easier paths to the camp entrance, then dissapearing into the wilds.<p>

When they reached the camp they went over to Duncan, who had been preparing the joining, giving them one last chance to back out, claiming the joining can be fatal. When no one did, he sent them to the old temple, telling them to wait for him there.

Once they got into the temple, thats when all the moaning started. Jory was complaining about having to do the joining

"All I'm saying is why all these damn tests? And he said this was often fatal? If I had known.."

"Maybe their just trying to annoy you?" Daveth suggested, making Kallian roll her eyes

"like your annoying me? would you two just shut up?" Daveth sneered at Jory and stuck his tongue out

"Yeah sir knight, try not to wet your trousers before the ritual starts!" Aeden and Kallian looked at each other, these two were idiots. Right after Daveth said that Duncan came in bearing a goblet, he told them of the ritual, drinking of the darkspawn blood. Jory looked panicked, but said little. Duncan spoke, then Alistair, continuing on with the ritual.  
>Calling Daveth forward Duncan offered him the goblet, and backed away. Daveth drank deeply, then handed it back to Duncan. As soon as the goblet left his hands the man clutched his head, screaming, and clutched at his throat as if choking. Duncan was serious, this was fatal. Daveth fell to the ground, dead.<p>

"I am sorry Daveth" Duncan said, but then turned to Jory "but the ritual is not yet complete" he turned to give Jory the goblet, but the coward backed away

"No. NO. I have a wife... a child!" Duncan looked pained and simply offered the goblet again

"There is no turning back" that did it, Jory pulled his sword, but Duncan was faster, he pulled a knife and parried Jory's blows, then landing a blow to his stomach, killing him.  
>Kallian couln't believe it, and moved closer to Aeden, who put his arm around her slim shoulders. She couldn't lose Aeden, he had become like her brother in the short time they had known each other. She had already lost everything, she pray to every deity she could think of, that they would live. Duncan turned and looked at them, and frowned<p>

"Aeden, you have been called to submit yourself for the greater good" Duncan said holding the goblet out to him. Aeden moved his arm, and gave Kallian a short squeeze and a smile, before moving forward to take the goblet, and drinking from it. Like Daveth, as soon as he handed back the goblet he seemed as if in pain, but this was different, not the choking and screaming. Soon Aeden fell on the ground, and Duncan bent down to check him

"He lives, from this moment on he is a Grey Warden" He turned to Kallian, who was standing there, ashen faced "You must submit for the greater good" nodding, the young elf moved forward, grabbing the goblet, and quickly downing some of the contents before handing it back to Duncan. Blinding pain filled her head as she lost vision. Before she fell to the ground she saw it. A huge, black dragon. Then blackness filled her mind and she collapsed.

Blegh! That took forever! stupid Ostagar chapter. I'm not even finished with the damn place. I'm also really sad right now, 68 hits on this story and not even 1 review, so review please!


	4. Chapter 4

Hello all! I just want to send out a big thank you to my reviewers Albinowings and Kickedjam!  
>I am indeed rushing Ostagar, I hate this part of the game, everyone who read's DA:O fanfic knows it, and as for my story line, it just isn't that important. This is set between what we see, so there might be other aspects from gameplay that are a little rushed. Thank you both for your interest! I hope I don't let you down!<p>

DA:O

_**Your minds in disturbia  
>It's like the darkness is the light<br>Disturbia  
>Am I scarin' you tonight<br>Your minds in disturbia  
>Ain't used to what you like<br>Disturbia, disturbia  
>-Rihanna, Disturbia<strong>_

Kallian woke to Aedens face hovering over hers, and her head pounding worse than the incident in the water fountain.

"Thank the maker you're awake" Aeden pulled her up as the elf shook her head to clear it "how do you feel?" Aeden asked. Kallian looked at him and grinned

"That was worse than the fountain" making him laugh, and Duncan, who was behind him, chuckle. Alistair stepped forward, holding two pendants, giving one to each of them

"These pendants are filled with a bit of blood, from the ritual, to remember those who didn't make it this far" when they put them on Duncan turned to Aeden

"Aeden, when you are ready I would like you to accompany me to a meeting to the south of here, the King requested it" he looked at Kallian "If you would prepare a meal before the battle, it would be appreciated" with a nod he turned to leave, Aeden right behind him. Kallian turned to Alistair and smirked

"Just you and me now, eh?" Kallian laughed as he backed up a little "Oh come now, I'm harmless unless provoked, and you don't seem stupid enough to provoke me, so you'll be fine" Alistair relaxed a bit and walked toward the camp, Kallian hustling after him. He cast a side long glance at the elf beside him as they moved toward the Grey Warden pavillion

"So you and Aeden, you two knew each other before?" the warrior said in attempt to make conversation, Kallian glanced up at him and grinned

"No, actually we didn't meet until about a week ago" she paused, a slight frown on her face "I was from Denerim, and he is from Highever, a lord there" Alistair absorbed this information

"You two seem close for only meeting a week ago" Kallian's frown deepened

"Indeed, but we understand each other well, both of us walk dark paths, it is better to walk together"

"What do you mean 'dark paths', thats a little ominous" the elf stopped, and glared at him, making him squirm a bit, and feel like he would rather face a few hundred darkspawn

"You remember what I said about provoking me?" he nodded "well you are provoking me" Alistair swallowed as she turned and kept going. Thanking the Maker that he was spared her wrath he followed after her. They quickly reached the pavilion, and Kallian stopped and dropped her pack to the ground, digging through it. with a frustrated moan she looked at Alistair

"Do you have a stew pot?" she asked with a little quirk of her head, obviously past the little flash of anger he had seen a few moments ago. He gave the elf a pained expression before he replied

"I don't but I can get one" he glanced around and added "the others, they don't let me cook, so they took my pots away" Kallian struggled not to laugh

"Why don't they let you cook?"

"Because the other wardens say it makes them lose their appetites" now Kallian DID laugh, waving off his offer to get one

"I'll get one myself, if you're that bad they might not give you one" she strode off, leaving Alistair by himself for a few moments, but returned quickly with her arms full of not just a stew pot, but a couple other pans and some spoons. Alistair stared at her, wondering how she managed to get all of it

"How did you snag an entire cooking set?"

"I told the Quartermaster I would tell Duncan about the little mess earlier and demand he be reprimanded, he was quite helpful after that"

"Little.. mess?" Kallian chuckled as she set the stew pot up over the fire that was already burning, and started adding ingredients

"Yes, little mess. He mistook me for a servant and spoke very rudely to me. Aeden pretty much took care of it, scared the man witless, but I needed cooking things, and I'm not above blackmail" Alistair just shook his head and sat down next to her, sitting silently as she cooked. about an hour later, Duncan and Aeden showed up, proclaiming they were starving, and that Kallian better hurry with the stew. Laughing, the elf tasted the stew and let it cook another couple minutes before dishing it out, and settling down to eat, speaking very little. Suddenly Aeden burst out laughing, making everyone stare at him in surprise. Kallian asked what the other two men at the fire were thinking

"Aeden, what in the Makers name is so funny?" gasping for air, the rogue simply pointed at her and choked out

"YOU!" Kallian stood, and Duncan stood with her, preparing to hold her back if need be

"And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?" Aeden took a couple of calming breathes and looked her straight in the face, still chuckling

"You were eating like Duncan!" a couple of seconds of silence met them, then all the sudden the two rogues burst out laughing, and were quickly joined by Duncan. Poor Alistair couldn't understand it, the elf went from infuriated one second, to laughing hysterically the next, it didn't make any sense! After several minutes of loud laughter from the two new wardens, things calmed down, and Duncan turned serious. He looked at the three of them and frowned, they truely could use these three in the battle. He cleared his throat making them look at him

"I wish to speak to the three of you about your role in the upcoming battle" Aeden sighed and Duncan turned to him "you heard the plan, you, Kallian and Alistair are to go to the tower of Ishal and ensure the beacon is lit" Alistair stood up, anger etched into his features, Kallian right behind him, looking murderous

"What? I won't be in the battle?"

"This is by the kings personal request Alistair. If the beacon isn't lit Teryn Lohgains men wont know when to charge"

"So he needs THREE Gray Wardens up there holding the torch, just in case, right?" Alistair said mockingly. Kallian took a small step toward Duncan, still angry

"I agree with Alistair, we should be in the battle!" Duncan looked sharply at her and she bowed her head, a bit red faced

"That is not your choice! If King Cailan wishes Gray Wardens to ensure the beacon is lit then the Gray Wardens will be there" he turned his gaze to Alistair "we must do whatever it takes to destroy the Darkspawn, exciting or no" Alistair sighed and shook his head

" I get it, I get it. But just so you know, if the king ever asks me to put on a dress and dance the remigold, I'm drawing the line. Darkspawn or no" Aeden snorted and Kallian got a wicked grin

"I don't know" she put in "that could be a great distraction" Aeden was shaking in silent laughter, and Kallian winked at him

"Me shimmying down the darkspawn line? Sure! We can kill them as they roll around laughing!" Kallian laughed, but Duncan just sighed, obviously wondering what he had done to deserve the task of keeping them in line. After some more instruction Duncan sent them to do their duty, but Kallian stopped, looking back at the Warden Commander. She ran to him and, to the shock of everyone there, hugged him, a feeling of foreboding in the pit of her stomach.

"Thank you, Duncan, for everything" she told him, pulling away "Maker keep his gaze on you" the older man nodded, and she gave him a sad smile, before running to catch up with Alistair, Aeden and now Dane, who looked like he had gone off to get food from the kennel master.

"Lets go, I want this over with" the four set off to the tower, Aeden leading. In time, they reached the gorge, and they saw that the battle saw already in full swing, and that the enemy had cattapults, lauching large, flaming projectiles at the bridge.  
>Running swiftly across they reached the other side, to see soldiers fleeing, terrified. Kallian snagged one soldier by the arm, and he looked at them in relief<p>

"You! You're Gray Wardens aren't you? The tower! it's been taken" Alistair frowned and questioned him

"Taken? what do you mean? Taken how?" the man looked back in fear

"The darkspawn, they came from the lower levels, most of my men are dead" Kallians eyes widened and she turned to Aeden

"This was not part of the plan I hope" Aeden shook his head and started to reply, but Alistair cut him off

"Come on, we need to get up to that beacon and light it ourselves" the two Rogues nodded, and ran off in the direction of the tower, they hadn't gone far when they found some soldiers fighting darkspawn. The soldiers were outnumbered and dropping quickly.  
>The wardens ran in, Alistair first, Dane next to him, Aeden behind them both, while Kallian stood back, firing at a safe distance.<br>They quickly dispatched the darkspawn, and managed to save several of the soldiers. They pressed on, battling darkspawn as they went.

When they reached they tower, it was obvious that the men that were here stood absolutely no chance of survival. Gritting their teeth the wardens the wardens pushed their way through the tower, fortunately the darkspawn inside were mostly grunt's, and easy to kill. When they reached the second floor they were all a bit winded, and stopped to rest for a moment, even though the darkspawn were not far ahead

"Makers breath!" Alistair panted "what are these darkspawn doing ahead of the rest of the horde? there wasn't supposed to be any resistance here!" Kallian smirked and glanced at Aeden, who clearly was thinking along the same lines as her

"You can try telling them that" she joked as Aedens grin got bigger and he added

"Yeah, see this is all just a BIG misunderstanding, I'm sure they will just clear out when we tell them" Kallian snorted in laughter but Alistair just glared

"Come on, we've got to get to the beacon, in case you've forgotten, Duncan is down there" That straightened them up pretty fast, and they charged on again, in time they came to a room full of mabari war dogs, and the dogs helped them take down the darkspawn. Finally they charged down a hallway and into a small room with only a couple darkspawn, and Alistair let out a cry of relief, the door to the top floor at last!  
>Fearing they missed the signal they charged up the stairs, and into the large room, but what they saw stopped them in their tracks, and they froze. An ogre. A huge, Ugly, man eating ogre. And it was between them and the beacon. Kallian backed up so she wouldn't be in the fray, as the men charged the Ogre, fighting with everything they had, Alistair distracted it, kept it moving, while Aiden hacked at its thick skin from behind, and Dane lunged at it, trying to get to the throat. After a few minutes of useless arrow wounds and Aeden using his sword more like an axe trying to get through its thick skin, they were tiring, and the ogre wasn't. Kallian had enough, she was filthy, tired, and wanted this to be over! Holding tightly to her bow she ran straight at the ogre, and, launching herself off of Aedens back, who, for some reason, was somewhat low to the ground, she propelled herself onto the ogres back landing on its shoulders she shot two arrows into its head, killing it, and sending her flying into a wall on the other side of the room. Aeden ran over to her, worried<p>

"Kallian? Are you ok?" the elf opened her eyes and gave a weak, yet cheeky grin

"Ha, takes more than an ogre throwing me into a wall to take me down" Aeden grinned and pulled her up, handing her the bow she dropped when she shot the ogre

"You know, that was really stupid right?"

"Oh sure, no 'Makers breathe Kallian, you saved my life! thank you!' nope, just a 'you know, that was stupid'" Aeden grinned and shook his head, knowing she was joking. They walked over to Alistair, who was focusing on lighting the beacon. after a few attempts with the flint, it lit, and the three wardens sighed, but before they relaxed, they door behind them burst open and darkspawn came pouring in, the next thing Kallian knew was pain, she saw Aeden fall next to her, and with a mournful cry, she knew no more

Alasse: oh my GOD that took me way to long to write, no inspiration past the first, like, paragraph, whatsoever. Damn Ostagar.  
>Anyways, thank you again to my reviewers, next time, join us as our wardens face grief, Morrigan and travelling in the wilds!<br>Will Morrigan drive them all insane? Will they survive Alistairs cooking? Only time will tell. Cookies to the person to guess my inspiration for the fight with the ogre :)


	5. Chapter 5

Haldir: Alasse do I really have to do this?

Alasse: YES! I'm busy *digs through music library hoping for inspiration*

Haldir: *sigh* Alasse is currently having a panic attack, so she has order.. I mean, ASKED me to do the disclaimer. She owns nothing but bits of plot line. *holds up sign that says in big red letters 'SAVE ME!'*

Alasse: Keep going!

Haldir: Ah yes, she also wished me to add she is only borrowing me from Lord of the Rings, and that she is terribly sorry for the 'Annoyingness' of the Dialog at the hut, it cannot be skipped over as it is essential, more so that Ostagar. She will, however, do her best to make it a bit shorter, and less boring.

DA:O

_**All eyes on me when I walk in,  
>No question that this girl's a 10<br>Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful  
>Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful<br>My walk, my talk the way I dress  
>It's not my fault so please don't trip<br>Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful  
>Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful<br>-Keri Hilson, Pretty Girl Rock **_

Aeden didn't quite know what was happening, he felt ill, unable to open his eyes, and he ached all over. The last thing he remembered was darkspawn, swarming up from the lower levels. But there weren't darkspawn here. Was he dead? No, dead can't hurt this much. Dead would be better. Kallian keeps saying... wait a minute, Kallian! Alistair! and maker forgive him, Dane! Sitting up and opening his eyes, all pain and ill feelings forgotten he saw he was in a small hut. Looking to the corner he saw the witch from the marsh they had encountered the day before. Sensing his movement she turn and smiled that unsettling smile on him

"Ah, your eyes finally open! mother shall be pleased" moving closer to Aeden she gave him what he supposed was a pitying look

"What happened in Ostagar? Where are my friends?" Morrigan frowned, her eyes sweeping over his body. He looked down as she did that and yelped in surprise, jumping back from her and tumbling off the other side of the bed

"Where is my armor?" Morrigan grinned, and stepped around the bed, laughing as Aeden tried to cover himself with the blanket.

"To answer your first question, the man who was suppposed to respond to your signal quit the field, those he abandoned were massacred. The answer to your second question is outside, waiting for you to awaken, all three of them" she fell silent, letting him process what she told him. he stood silently, blanket wrapped around him, his face going from anger, to grief, before turning impassive. He turned a cold look to her

"My armor? My third question lies unanswered"

"'tis in the chest at the foot of the bed, it has been repaired. Tell me, do you remember mothers rescue?" Aeden shook his head, and moved toward the chest, opened it, and started putting on his clothes and armor. Soon he was dressed and turned to Morrigan, he gave a stiff bow, with and impassive face

"Thank you for helping me Morrigan" he inwardly smirked as anger flashed across her face at his stiffness towards her

"I... You are welcome, though mother did most of the work, I am no healer, I am to, shall we say, fiesty?" Aeden narrowed his eyes, she was trying to seduce him. Ew. _Creepy witch who lives in a swamp, how appealing _Aeden thought dryly. Nodding his thanks again, he left, leaving behind a bewildered Morrigan. When exiting the small hut He saw Alistair standing near the path, Morrigans mother next to him, as well as Dane and their packs. Suddenly something slammed into him from the side, knocking him down, and landing on him. A look up told him it was Kallian, who sobbed into his shoulder. Shocked, he turned to Alistair, who looked like he had been crying as well. Morrigans mother was the first to speak

"See, here is your fellow Gray Warden, you both worry to much" Kallian sniffled a bit and stood, helping Aeden up. Alistair strode over to them, and put a hand on Aedens shoulder

"I thought for sure you were dead" Aeden frowned and looked at Kallian, who was calming down

"I'm not, thanks to Morrigans mother" he said with a nod in the direction of the old witch, Alistair ignored this and looked like he was close to tears

"This doesn't seem real, if not for Morrigans mother we would be dead on top of that tower"

"Do not talk about me as if I am not present, lad" Alistair seemed to suddenly remember that she was, in fact, there, and turned to her

"I'm sorry, it's just, I don't know what to call you, you never gave us your name" Frowning the old woman replied

"Name's are pretty, but useless, the chasind folk call me Flemeth, that will do" Alistair and Aeden both took a step back, and Kallian looked at them, confused.

"Flemeth? as in THE Flemeth? Daveth was right, You're a witch of the wilds!" Flemeth glared at them

"And? I know a bit of magic, and it has served you all well" Kallian stepped in

"Thank you, Flemeth, for healing us. But if you don't mind my asking, why DID you save us?"

"Well, we can't have ALL the gray wardens dying at once can we? It has always been the duty of the Gray Wardens to unite the lands against the darkspawn, or did that change when I wasn't looking?" Alistair looked enraged

"Of course not! We WERE fighting the Darkspawn, the king had nearly defeated them why would Loghain do this?" Aeden stopped paying attention, the other two had time for their grief, now it was hitting him. Duncan was dead, the king, dead. Everyone, but them. he vaguely heard Arl Eamons name, and Flemeth say something about elves, mages and dwarves, but he was in another world. What did he have left? A hand slipped into his, and he had his answer. Kallian. She was his best friend. His sister in all but name. He turned to her and smiled, coming back to the conversation.

"So do you think we can do this? Go to Redcliffe and these other places. Raise an Army?" Alistair asked the other two wardens. Kallian shrugged and answered

"I don't see why not, just, don't mention fountains to Arl Eamon, and I'll be happy. Er. Happier" Aeden grinned at her, and she just shrugged. Flemeth smiled

"So you are set then, ready to become Gray Wardens?" Alistair nodded, as did Kallian, and Aeden answered

"Yes, Thank you for everything Flemeth"

"No, No. Thank YOU. Before you go I have one more thing to offer" before she could tell them what it was, Morrigan walked up, and gave Aeden a wink, before turning to her mother

"The stew is bubbling mother, shall we have three guests for the eve, or none?" Flemeth smirked, a most unsettling expression

"The Gray Wardens will be leaving shortly girl and you will be going with them"

"Such a sh- Wait, what?" Morrigan looked at her mother with wide eyes, and so did Aeden. He did NOT want a creepy swamp witch following him around Ferelden!

"You heard me girl, last time I looked you had ears" Flemeth laughed, but Aeden held up his hands

"Oh no, if Morrigan doesn't wish to go..." Flemeth smirked again

"Nonsense, her magic will be useful, and she can lead you out of the wilds, avoiding the bulk of the horde" Aeden looked at Kallian, but the elf seemed to agree with Flemeth, though she didn't look happy. Morrigan didn't look happy either

"Have I no say in this?" she demanded

"you have been itching to get out of the wilds for years, consider this your chance. As for you, wardens, consider this payment for your lives" Aeden frowned as Kallian nodded and answered

"Very well, we'll take her with us" Aeden sent her a withering glare, but Kallian just shook her head, he took that to mean 'not now' and would speak to her later. Alistair, however, felt like giving it one more shot at leaving Morrigan behind

"Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but won't this add to our problems? outside of the wilds she's an apostate" Flemeth glared

"If you do not wish help from us illegal mages young man, maybe I should have left you up on that tower"

"Point. Taken." Morrigan looked wide eyed at Flemeth

"Mother, this is not how I wanted this, I'm not even ready!" Aeden raised an eyebrow and looked at Kallian, who looked as confused as he felt, ready for what?

"You must be, together these three must unite Ferelden agaisnt the darkspawn. they NEED you Morrigan, without you, they will surely fail, and all will perish under the blight. Even I"  
>the two confused wardens looked at Alistair, and saw he was just as confused as them. The three shared a look, and Kallian shrugged her shoulders.<br>This too, they could talk about later. Morrigan seemed to contemplate something for a moment before sighing in defeat

"I... understand"

"And you wardens? Do you understand? I give you that which I value most in this world, I do this because you MUST succeed" Aeden nodded, internally rolling his eyes, and spoke for them

"We understand" Flemeth gave him another of her creepy smirks, and Morrigan glared at him. But hey! At least she wasn't trying to seduce him! ... for now. Aeden shuddered at the thought of her seducing him, and Kallian gave him a weird look. It was his turn to shake his head. Later, always later. Morrigan turned to Kallian, who seemed to be, in Morrigans eyes 'In charge'

"Allow me to get my things, if you please" The swamp witch walked into the small hut, and dissapeared, giving the wardens time to grab their own things.  
>Aeden was looking into his pack, and Alistair was hoisting his up, when Kallian cursed loudly<p>

"Andrastes bleeding knickers!" she exclaimed, glaring into her pack. Aeden snickered, and looked over her shoulder, to figure out what was wrong

"What is making Andrastes knickers bleed that's in your pack?" Kallian glared at him

"It's not whats in my pack, it's what is NOT in my pack!" she glowered at the bag as if it was to blame for her forgetting something. Alistair joined them in staring into her pack, and Flemeth watched in amusement. Finally Alistair asked the dreaded question!

"What isn't in there?" Kallian sighed, and giving the pack one last glare, closed it up, and hoisted it up onto her back

"My cooking things" She and Alistair stared at each other for a second, and remembering how she blackmailed the Quartermaster promptly burst out laughing. Aeden watched them for a second and realized that he and Kallian were like this a lot, laughing about things everyone else had no clue of, and that thought made him join in with their laughter. After a moment they calmed down, mostly because they saw Morrigan approaching. When she reached them, she glared

"I am at your disposal, Grey Wardens. I suggest a village north of the wilds as our first destination. 'Tis not far, and you will find much you need there, or if you prefer I will simply be your silent guide" Kallian glanced at Aeden and nearly laughed, but choked it down, instead responding with a more diplomatic reply

"I think we should just get underway" Morrigan nodded and turned to her mother, speaking her goodbyes. But the wardens ignored them for the most part, only catching snatches of the conversation, not really caring about their fond farewells. The wardens marched up the hill leading away from the hut to wait for Morrigan, who came up after them, pushed her way past, and gave a jerk of her head, indicating they should follow. Aeden smirked at Kallian, who returned the look. This was going to be interesting.

DA:O

Morrigan indeed knew the wilds well, she led them on what she called 'hidden paths'. Kallian called it swamp muck, Aeden called it Morrigans bathing water, which made Alistair and Kallian snort in laughter, and their 'silent guide' to glare at them. Kallian just giggled harder when she did this

"shhh we must not disturb the squelching noise our feet make with our laughter"

Another glare. Kallian smiled in return, it was to easy to infuriate her, hence Kallian's joy in doing so. The group marched on, they had left about mid-day, and they had been walking for several hours, for it was now getting dark. Morrigan led them to a glade that was actualy dry, and announced it would do as camp. The wardens set up their tents near each other, but Morrigan set hers as far away as possible. However, later in the evening, when the wardens were sitting around eating, their meal of dried meat and bread, she came over and sat next to Aeden, who tried to scoot further down the log, eventualy falling off. When Morrigan saw her advances went unanswered, she went back to her tent, and the wardens settled down to talk, sitting in a tight circle, Dane included, the men spoke of Morrigan

"Why on EARTH would you agree to bring her, Kallian? I don't trust her!" Alistair said, shaking his head at the elf

"Because do you really think they would give up if we refused? There is something else going on with them, and I would rather have Morrigan where I can keep an eye on her" Aeden scoffed and glared at the witch

"Wonderful, creepy swamp witch who tries to seduce me comes along" Kallian started to nod, then gave Aeden a funny look, like she was trying not to laugh

"Wait, she tried to seduce you?"

"Yes, in the hut, it was creepy" Kallian was turning red and shaking in silent laughter "Oh just laugh I know you want to" and so Kallian did, Alistair joining in, and eventualy Aeden. Wiping tears of mirth from her eyes Kallian gave the swamp witch an evil smirk, which Aeden noticed

"You're up to something"

"What makes you say that" the elf said innocently, fooling no one. Her eyes never left the mage across the camp "I was just thinking, didn't Morrigan say there was a clear stream off the clearing to bath in?" the men shared a nervous look, and Alistair slowly nodded

"Yeees, but why?" Kallian leant further in and whispered her plan to them, their grins widening further by the second. There was only one flaw with the plan

"How do we get her away? She probably won't trust any of us" Looking at poor innocent Dane, Kallian got a wonderful idea. Reaching over she pet the dog.

"Oh Dane, you smart boy you. I need you to do something for me..."

Alasse: Haldir will be leaving my fandom for Lorien, he was a tremendous help, and gave me a wonderful idea for my next chapter (I love my muses! he is one of several) I know I changed some of the dialog, but I got bored with the original. So I'm debating on where they should go first, and I thought I might let you shout out where you think they should go first (please include reason, it might spark an idea in my head). Also, I know there wasn't much story you haven't already seen in this chapter, and I'm sorry, I tried skipping it, but it seemed soooo rushed! Next time, however, they WILL be travelling, I don't even know if they will get to Lothering.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello everyone! Today, there is no song posted at the beginning, as my inspiration is from no song, but from my muse, Haldir! In all seriousness (warning:these moments are rare), I'm excited for this chapter, this is the first chapter that all my lovely little wardens are together on the road with someone to torture. As for the questions of romance, yes, there will be romance, but I have something very specific in mind for each of my wardens, so just be patient with me, it might take a while, longer, depending on where I send them first. (hint: Kallians love interest has been mentioned in this story before!)  
>With those comforting words in place I give you my disclaimer. I DON'T OWN IT, OK? If I DID you would be darn sure I wouldn't be on here, and there would be a movie, involving Craig Parker and Orlando Bloom as Aeden and ... Kallians love interest *snicker*. Just think of Aeden as looking like Orlando, and all is well.<p>

DA:O

Morrigan couldn't understand it. The warden, Aeden, seemed immune to her charms. Was she not beautiful? She had taken many men to her bed when she ventured out of the wilds, none had ever refused her. But this Aeden, he refused her, and it confused Morrigan.  
>Looking over at the wardens she glared. There they were, sitting in a tight circle, wide grins spread across their faces.<br>Morrigans glare deepened as the Elf looked over at her. The young wardens gaze was unsettling, and even from this distance Morrigan could tell them men thought so too. Morrigan watched from the corner of her eye as the mens faces turned from slightly wary, to highly amused, and their little circle got tighter. Hmph, if they didn't want to include her, then she would ignore them! she turned her gaze to her fire, and avoided looking at the wardens. She missed Kallian reaching over the Dane, and the wicked looks she got from the three of them. She also missed Kallian standing up, and slinking back into the shadows.

DA:O

"OK Dane, go for it boy!" Aeden urged his dog quietly, as Kallian dissapeared. Dane, being the loyal dog he was trotted over to Morrigan, and sat in front of her, head quirked to the side, Morrigan looked up at the dog, and glared at it

"Go away you mangy beast!" Dane whined, and his head drooped. But Morrigan glanced over to the wardens, where was the elf? The men were sitting talking quietly, but the elf was no where to be seen. Deciding that she probably went to bathe, the witch payed it no heed. Now to get rid of the mutt. Morrigan shooed at him and he growled, and leave he did, but not before snatching her staff, Morrigan growled and got up to chase the dog

"OI! You horrible, mangy BEAST! you give that back" The men looked up from their fire in what Morrigan presumed was surprise, and went to chase after the dog as well.  
>Kallian came out of the shadows by Morrigans things, smirking. Dane was perfect, a wonderful actor that dog was. Moving to Morrigans bag she opened it up, and pulled out Morrigans spare clothes. Opening up the bottle of powder she had, being careful not to get it on herself, she sprinkled it inside of Morrigans things, and put the cap back on. She carefully placed Morrigans things in the bag, and stepped back, once again going into the shadows.<br>The elf moved to a spot in the trees far away from Morrigans pack, and came rushing out out the woods near the warden side of camp. Looking around and feigning shock she stared at the chaos in front of her

"What in the name of Andrastes bleeding knickers is going on?" that was Dane's que. The hound dashed from the campsite, and headed toward a bog, Morrigan right behind him. at the edge of the bog Dane stopped, and crouched to the ground, effectivly tripping Morrigan, and sending her face first into the bog. He dropped her staff and trotted back to the campsite, sitting by his masters tent. Morrigan stood up, dripping wet and covered in swamp muck, as the wardens ran up. The three stared at the witch, swallowing their laughter, and Aeden offered her a hand

"I'm sorry about that, he really is an idiot sometimes" Morrigan just glared at him, ignoring his hand, snatched up her staff, and went to her tent. The wardens looked at each other and grinned, knowing she was going to change. Alistair looked at the elf and couldn't contain himself any longer

"So, did you do it?" Kallian laughed and nodded, before turning back to the camp and settling down in front of the fire. The men shrugged at each other and joined her. The wardens hoped that Morrigan would reappear that night, but she stayed in her tent. Well into the night Kallian and Aeden went to sleep, Alistair taking the first watch. The next morning would prove very interesting.

DA:O

Morrigan stirred as the sun started to peek over the horrizon. She scratched an itch on her neck, and then one on her back. What in the... she was itching all over! Scratching, she stood and gathered her things, then left her tent. When she got outside all the wardens were already up, packed, and eating breakfast. Kallian looked up as the witch came out

"Good morning Morrigan, are you hungry?" the elf turned her head to the side, looking innocent

"No, I am NOT hungry" Morrigan angrily said "Now would you please tell me why I itch?" Kallian frowned and came over to her, looking at the witches arm

"This looks just like the rash that soldier had, he fell into a bog too, probably something nasty in the water" Morrigan glared and snatched her arm back, stomping off to take down her tent. when the witch stomped off Kallian spun around toward the men and broke down in silent laughter. Aeden joined her and looked at her with mock fear

"I would HATE to be on your bad side" Kallian just smirked and nodded over to Aedens pack

"Do you still have that dye we found in the tower of Ishal?" He nodded and pulled it out, handing it to the elf, who proceeded to pour it into a jar she had next to her. Aeden grabbed it from her and sniffed it. It took him a second to figure out what it was, but when he did he got an evil grin, making Alistair grab it as well, before the warrior got the same expression as the other two

"Itch cream, Kallian? That's genius. Evil, but genius" Alistair said, handing it back to her. The elf smiled, and got a kind expression on her face as she walked over to Morrigan. The men saw her talk to the witch for a moment, and hand over the cream. Morrigan seemed to hesitate for a moment, then thanked the elf, who nodded and went back to the fire. Morrigan got her tent put in her pack quickly, then joined the wardens. As she walked up she was smothering itch cream all over her face and chest, quickly turning it blue. she didn't seem to notice, and the others made a point of not looking at her. They put out the fire and Kallian glanced out of the corner of her eye. Morrigan had just started putting it on her arms. Strike now or its witches wrath. The elf got a frightened look on her face and flung out her arms

"Morrigan stop!" the witch narrowed her eyes, but stopped putting on the cream. Feigning fear, Kallian took the jar and stared at it before looking at the witch and adding "I think you better take a look at your arms, I'm sooo sorry, it must have been meant for me" Morrigan looked at her arms in horror, then turned her now angry gaze to Kallian, who suddenly felt fear for her life

"Meant for you, eh? you didn't plan this?"

"Where would I get dye? I left Denerim in a rush, grabbing nothing I didn't need, then I went to an army camp! Besides, what reason do I have to turn you blue? I was the one who decided we needed you, making you angry accomplishes nothing" The men silently watched this, appluading Kallians acting skills, before Alistair put in

"I'll bet that's what Daveth was doing in your pack, right before the ritual" Kallian looked at him confused but he kept going "Remember, you thought he was going through your, er, under...things" he turned red as he said this but Kallian figured out where he was going and growled

"Curse him! I had forgotten about that! stupid shem.." at this they saw Morrigans stance go into a less violent one, and she turned to Kallian again

"I will forgive you, but I suggest you check the rest of your salves before handing them out" with those words she walked off, leaving them in the glade they had camped in. The three wardens burst out laughing when Morrigan was out of earshot and the men clapped Kallian on the shoulder, Alistair took a deep breathe before speaking

"That, Kallian, was genius" the elf grinned and looked at him with glee

"I think I'm going to have to work with you more Alistair. The thing with Daveth was an ingenius idea. I mean, he DID seem the type to do something like that" She chuckled and hoisted her pack up onto her back "Anyways, we better catch up to her before she begins to think we're plotting again"  
>The three wardens trotted off after Morrigan, Dane after them.<p>

DA:O

Later that day they were looking for a place to camp. Kallian had gone off, scouting the area for a good site, when Morrigan approached Aeden, who looked up in surprise

"What can I help you with, Morrigan" the witch glared at him but did answer

"How do I get the dye out?" Aeden shook his head and frowned, but inwardly was celebrating

"I don't know, we'll have to ask the traders in Lothering, until then, maybe some hot water and soap?" Morrigan just huffed and walked off. Alistair walked over to Aeden and nodded in Morrigans direction. The witch was stalking around like an angry genlock

"What was that about?"

"She asked me how to get dye out of skin" Alistair chuckled and threw a glance in the witches direction

"What did you tell her?"

"The truth, I don't know. I told her hot water and soap might help though" the men shared another chuckle

"You know if I was a genlock you would be dead" The men just about jumped out of their skin at the sound of Kallian's voice. Aeden turned to look at the elf behind him and smirked

"If you were a genlock I would have sensed you from two miles away, and heard you a mile away" Kallian grinned and shook her head

"Come on, I found a campsite just over the tree line over there" she whistled to Morrigan to get her attention "Morrigan, I found a site, come on" the elf turned and walked in the direction she had just come from. Dane walked up to the elf and whined at her. She smiled and reached down, scratching his ears. Poor hound had been a bit neglected since Ostagar, maybe she would say something to Aeden. Picking up a stick she waved it in front of the hound, who wagged his stumpy tail, wanting to play. Kallian tossed the stick and the hound chased after it. Kallian smiled at the hound, as Aeden came up next to her

"You know, you're the first person Dane has taken a liking to since I was a child. He only ever liked me, and my friend Roland" Aeden's smiled slipped off his face as he remembered Roland's valiant death. Kallian put a hand on Aedens arm and he gave her a sad smile, which she returned

"Cheer up, or I'll have to prank Morrigan again" that made the man laugh, and he gave Kallian a hug

"You are the best friend I have ever had, you know that, right?" Kallian grinned at pulled away, smacking his arm

"Aww quit, you're making me blush, now let's get to the campsite" she turned and gave Dane, who had returned with his stick, a pat on the head, and walked toward her site. Alistair watched the scene from behind, curious. They obviously weren't telling him something, but what, he wasn't sure. It wasn't like they had had a ton of time to get to know each other. Maybe in time they would clue him in on their pasts, until then, he would have to guess.

At the camp, Alistair watched the two wardens, while also keeping an eye on Morrigan, who was sitting near the fire she started at the other side of the camp waiting for water to boil. The wardens were setting up their tents, and Alistair tried to guess at their backgrounds. It was clear that Kallian was a city elf, she spoke of Andraste and the Maker too much to be Dalish, who wouldn't teach of those things. And Aeden, well he had to be noble, no doubt about it. The elf had second rate armor, and a rather old, beat up bow, whereas Aeden had fine leather armor, and one of his weapons was a sword of nice make, maybe a family sword? But where would a city elf learn to fight like Kallian does? And why would a lord, who can afford nice armor like that AND a mabari hound for his young child allow his son to become a warden? Shaking his head, Alistair went and started a fire, waiting for the other two to join him. Soon all the tents were up, and the sun had set. The wardens had a quick dinner, and then sat quietly around the fire. Finally Aeden sighed, and pushed Kallian off the log she had been sitting on. She hit the ground, and glared at Aeden

"What was that for?"

"I was bored, and I thought it would be funny" the elf crouched down and looked ready to spring. Aedens eyes widened in surprise and the elf launched herself at him, knocking him to the ground. The two wrestled on the ground for a minute before pulling away, breathless with laughter. Looking up they saw Alistair sitting there with a expression between shock and amusement. Kallian stood, pulling Aeden up after her, and grinned at Alistair, before brushing herself off and sitting back down on her log, she looked at Aeden and grinned

"So the great Aeden Cousland is bored? What to do, what to do..." Alistair froze. Cousland? Aeden was a COUSLAND? it couldn't be..

"Wait, did you just say Cousland?" Aeden's head snapped up and he glared at Kallian, who looked sheepish

"Oh don't give me that look, he was going to find out some time or another! Since we're going to Redcliffe it probably would have been closer to 'some time' then 'another'" Aeden just glared at her again, before turning his attention to Alistair

"To answer your question, yes. I am a Cousland" he glanced at Kallian who looked sheepish still "I don't want it getting around that I'm still alive, but it's probably a little late, seeing as the king probably told Loghain, who has probably told Howe" Alistair frowned a little at the tone of his voice

"What do you mean 'Still alive', are you supposed to be dead or something?" Aeden frowned and Kallian sat next to him and put her arm around him

"I think we should tell him how we came to the wardens, he deserves the truth" Aeden nodded, and with a deep breath launched into his tale, never looking up at Alistair. The tale was sad, Alistair never could have imagined going through that. Howe had been his friend, then in one night he had gone from a second father to his familys murderer. But this tale didn't include Kallian. When he finished Alistair looked at Kallian and she met his gaze evenly

"What about you, you are obviously a city elf, but you're not supposed to carry weapons. What would you do to get the attention of the wardens" Kallian frowned and stood, turning her back to them, staring off into the forest, obviously deep in thought

"I will tell you my tale, but you have to promise not to judge me until you have heard the whole tale" she spun around, giving Alistair a hard look. The warrior was suddenly afraid, was her tale really that terrible she would make him take a vow? Deciding he didn't care, he slowly nodded. Kallian was a good person, that much he knew, plus, Aeden trusted her. The elf nodded back to him and sat down, a forlorn look on her face

"My tale starts when I was five, and my mother trained me in weapons, a skill passed down through our family" Kallian told them of how she was raised, and of the death of Adia, and how she swore to one day to avenge her mothers death, caused by the Arl of Denerim. When she paused to swallow her tears Alistair spoke

"But that doesn't tell me how you joined the wardens, you were sixteen, you're twenty two now" Aeden glared at him, but Kallian just stared at the ground

"She's getting there" Kallian launched back into her tale quickly

"The reason Duncan recruited me, is because I killed Vaughn Urien" Alistairs eyes widened, but he held his tongue, having promised not to judge until she finished. She spoke of her wedding, and Shianni, and Vaughn taking them for his 'party'. She told him everything, sparing no detail, her voice wavered when she spoke of Nelaros' death, and how Vaughn tried to buy her. When she finished her tale one lone tear slipped down her cheek, and Alistair was near speechless. No wonder she hadn't told him her story, it hurt to much. She literally gave up EVERYTHING she had ever known, taken all responsibility for what happened onto herself, saving her cousin Soris. No wonder Duncan wanted her, her loyalty to her family was incredible. Alistair stood and moved in front of her, kneeling. She looked up at him in fear, but otherwise didn't move. Placing a hand on her shoulder he gave her a soft smile

"Don't worry, We can pass messages to your family when we go to Denerim" Kallian stared at him for a moment, the suddenly launched herself at him in a hug, tackling him to the ground

"Thank you so much, you don't know what that means to me" she sobbed into his shoulder. Aeden peeled her off Alistair, who looked a little stunned, and held her close as she cried. Dane whined and Aeden waved him over. The hound shoved his nose under Kallians arm and the elf looked at him, a watery smile on her face. She looked at the two men and stood, turning to her tent

"I will go to sleep if you don't mind, it's been a long day" Aeden stood and gave her another hug

"Go get some sleep, you can take last watch" Alistair nodded from behind him, and Kallian smiled at them. She walked to her tent, and Aeden motioned for Dane to go with her, and the loyal hound did. When the elf was in her tent Aeden's shoulders visibly slumped, and Alistair looked at him sadly

"I'm sorry for everything you've lost, it makes the loss of Duncan pale in comparison" Aeden just nodded and waved his hand

"I'll take first watch Alistair, get some sleep" the warrior frowned, but went to his tent anyways. Aeden sat by the fire, staring into it. Kallian was right, it HAD been a long day. Hopefully tomorrow they would be leaving the wilds. Then, they would get to Lothering in only a day if they kept a good pace. Sighing, Aeden poked a stick into the fire. Settling down for a long night.

DA:O

Across the camp Morrigan had seen everything, and heard quite a bit of it. Suddenly she felt something she hadn't ever felt before. Guilt. These wardens had been through so much, and yet they still risked what little they had left, and all she had been was snarky and difficult.  
>True, they had dyed her blue, she didn't believe that it was an accident, maybe, just maybe, she could forgive them. Turning over she went to sleep, like the elf had said, it had been a long day.<p>

DA:O

Kallian was on last watch, and everything about this morning was setting her teeth on edge. the hair on the back of her neck was standing up, making her nervous. She sat staring out into the forest, gazing in the direction that made her uneasy. a wrustle next to her alerted her to the presence of one of her companions. She didn't greet them, she just kept staring

"It's darkspawn, I can sense them from farther away than you right now" Alistair said "We should wake up the other two and get moving" Kallian nodded and turned, jogging over to Aedens tent, quietly waking him up, before moving on to Morrigans tent and doing the same. they quickly broke down the tents, and set out, moving away from the darkspawn. While they were walking Morrigan came up to Kallian, Looking behind them she spoke in whispers

"We'll have to take a longer route, they cut off my original path" Kallian nodded

"How much longer will this new route take?"

"Another day, will your supplies last long enough?"

"They should, I blackmailed the Quartermaster in Ostagar for extra supplies, we should be fine" Morrigan raised an eyebrow at the elf, wondering how she had blackmailed the Quartermaster. Kallian noticed the look and smiled, launching into an explanation

"He thought I was a servant, and was quite rude to me, I told him I would keep it quiet, not telling my commander, if he gave me extra supplies, including a cooking set, which I left in Ostagar" Morrigan let out a small chuckle, she had underestimated this elf, she was sneaky.  
>The two talked quietly for a bit, before Kallian dropped back to where Aeden was. He gave her a quizzical look, then looked pointedly at Morrigan<p>

"What was that about?" Kallian shrugged

"Nothing really, she was being somewhat nice, so I was too. She was letting me know we're going to be stuck in here another day, the darkspawn cut off the main route" Aeden gave her a strange look and she chuckled at him

"Morrigan? Nice? Are you sure she isn't luring you into a false sense of security?"

"No, I don't think so"

"Well, be careful around her"

"Yes mother" Aeden punched her arm, making her laugh. Alistair, who was in front of them, just gave them a smile and shook his head. After a moment the two quieted down, and they quietly marched on toward the border of the Korkari wilds. Hours slowly went by, and eventualy the feeling that they were being watched faded, and the banter between Kallian and Aeden picked up again, though Alistair remained quiet. Currently they were arguing about how much weight Dane could hold, and if Kallian could ride him like a horse

"But I'm tired, and I'm small. Dane is strong! He could probably carry your overly large self if he wanted to!"

"He's a dog, not a horse!

"He's really like a small pony"

"No he's not!" Kallian huffed and turned to the dog in question

"Dane, are you strong enough to carry me?" the hound let out a bark, confirming he could carry her, and Kallian smirked at Aeden, who glared at the dog

"Traitor! You're supposed to help me win!"

"Can I ride you Dane?" the dog let out another bark and Kallian clambered onto his back, though her feet were barely off the ground, the dog was holding her up like she weighed nothing. Aeden stared at them and shook his head

"I never thought I would see the day when someone used a mabari as a pony" Kallian laughed and got off Dane's back, patting the dog on the head. She fell in step with Aeden and poked the other rogue in the shoulder

"You forget I'm an elf sometimes! We are a lot smaller than humans, and I've always been a little scrawny, its not surprising that Dane didn't have a problem holding me up" Up at the frontof the group Morrigan was rolling her eyes, this was stupid and pointless. Who cares if she can ride the dog? Morrigan toned them out, and looked around. They had been walking all day and sundown was only about an hour away. She stopped, and the chatter died out behind her. Turning she saw all three wardens looking at her expectantly

"Sundown is only an hour away, we must find a decent camp. 'Tis a bad idea to be out here without shelter after dark" Kallian frowned and looked at the other wardens

"I went camp scouting yesterday, one of you two get to go off on your own and scout" Aeden sighed and pulled out his daggers

"I'll go I suppose, I'll be back soon" with that he ran into the woods. Kallian sighed as he left and looked over at Dane

"Oi, Dane, can I ride you to the campsite? My feet hurt" The dog barked at her and wagged his stumpy tail. Kallian giggled and climbed onto his back. she looped a rope through two of the hoops on his collar and made a makeshift set of reigns. Morrigan stared at the elf who was riding the large mabari like a pony and shook her head. The elf sat on the dog until Aeden came back, who sighed at the site of his beloved hound being used as a pony

"Kallian why are you riding on my dog?" Alistair watched the exchange with amusement

"I asked his permission first, and its because I'm tired, remember I had third watch last night?" Aeden sighed again and shook his head in defeat, he beckoned them after him, and took them to the site he found. When they got there Kallian climbed off the hound and the wardens set about setting up camp. It was a quiet night, and slowly they all drifted off to sleep. Hopefully they could be out of this damned forest by tomorrow.

DA:O

OMG that chapter took forever I'm soooo sorry! And like I said, not even in Lothering yet. Next chapter, they WILL get to Lothering, But I don't think they will leave it, Lothering is probably going to be two chapters, as theres a lot of content in it. After Lothering, however, I don't know where I'll send them. I'm leaning toward the Circle, or Redcliffe. Between those two I think, so let me know which of the two you would rather see first.


	7. Chapter 7

Alasse: OMG hi everyone! I am so incredibly sorry it's been so long! It's been a pretty hectic couple of weeks for me, and I haven't had large amounts of time to type.

Haldir: This means she will try harder to update faster and NOT lock her muses in a closet for three weeks.

Alasse: I said I was sorry about that!

Haldir: Yes but Rahl got so hungry he threatened to eat Yoda, so you aren't quite forgiven.

Alasse: *hangs head* Well, anyways, heres my chapter, I own nothing.

DA:O

Rendon Howe and his men were out in the courtyard waiting to greet Teryn Loghain. It looked like everything had gone according to plan, and like Loghain would be in charge. Now all Howe had to do was convince him of his loyalty, which shouldn't be hard, a few well placed words and these simple nobles believe anything. Loghain led his men in the gate and dismounted his horse, walking over to Howe, gripping his arm in a friendly gesture. Howe gave the Teryn a short bow

"Greetings my lord, welcome back to Denerim" Loghain nodded and scanned the crowd, looking for Anora, as planned

"Where is the queen, I bring terrible news" the men behind Howe shifted uneasily, there was very little that worried Loghain Mac Tir, even less that concerned Queen Anora.  
>Howe motioned inside the palace, where Queen Anora was waiting for her father, and the husband who would never return, thanks to the plans Howe had made...<p>

DA:O

"How far do you think until we get to Lothering? My boots are falling apart" Kallian asked the still blue skinned Morrigan as they marched along the road. They had been out of the Korkari Wilds for two days, and Morrigan said it wasn't far to Lothering.

"I believe we should be there by midday"

"Really? Oh, wonderful! I had to re-stick the heel of my boot on last night, I don't want to have to do it again!" Aeden laughed and ran forward, picking the elf up and slinging her over his shoulder like a sack.

"What are you doing you moron! Put me down!" She shouted as she thrashed

"I'm just saving boot leather - OOF!" she had gotten a well placed knee to his chest, taking him down. They wrestled around on the ground for a minute, Aedens hound Dane joining in, before Alistair tried to pull them apart.

"Come on you two, we need to get moving" the two on the ground would have none of it however, and they turned, each grabbing one of Alistairs ankles, and yanked, pulling him down with them. Morrigan watched for further up the road, looking on in disgust. She turned and made to walk further on ahead, but she saw something in the treeline that already had the wardens scrambling to their feet. Aeden, however, was the first one to shout out what Morrigan had seen.

"Darkspawn!"

The wardens, despite how foolish they were at times, moved as a well oiled machine. Alistair charged in, Dane and Aeden on his heels, while Kallian stayed back, firing arrows at a rapid pace, picking off the stragglers in the groups, and making sure the mages were distracted.  
>the fight was rather long, as the darkspawn outnumbered them four to one. They hacked through the ugly beings at a rapid pace, and Alistair danced around, distracting them. A yelp to Aedens left made him turn for a second. One of the hurlocks had slipped past Alistair and had gotten behind Kallian, delivering a blow to her arm. Aeden left the main fight running back toward Kallian, who had tumbled to the ground to get away from the creature after her. the little elf delivered a kick to its knees, and brought it down, before she scrambled to her feet. By the time she was on her feet Aeden had already launched himself at the darkspawn, and slit its throat. Aeden looked her over and determined she would be fine for now, and ran back to help Alistair and Morrigan dispatch the remaining darkspawn. The fight ended quickly and soon they were piling bodies for Morrigan to set fire to. When they finished they all went over to were Kallian was leaning against a tree, clutching her arm.<p>

"All right, lets see it Kal" Aeden said pulling the elfs hand away. The wound was bad, it was pretty deep, and looked like their might have been poison on the blade. Morrigan came up and looked at it. She stood there for a minute, before facing Kallian

"I can heal it, but it will scar" Kallian just nodded and waved her hand for Morrigan to continue. The witch healed Kallians arm, and the elf stood there a moment with her eyes closed, before she thanked Morrigan.

"Morrigan, thank you. Aeden look in my back and find a little blue vial" Aeden frowned but did as she asked. It took him several minutes before he found the one she was talking about, and he handed it to her. The second she had it in her hand the cork was out, and she was drinking from it.

"Kallian, what's in that vial?" Alistair asked warily

"The antidote to the poison on the blade, it was a simple deathroot extract, so I already had it" Aeden and Alistair looked at each other, surprised at her knowledge, but Morrigan raised an eyebrow, and spoke up

"And how, praytell, did you know exactly what poison it was? What if you had been wrong?" Kallian frowned at the witch, and pulled off her pack, setting it on the ground and pulling out several bottles of herbs and poisons, drawing more surprised looks.

"My mother was a fantastic rogue, always used her poison, making it herself" she got a wolfish grin on her face "I made sure Vaughn got the worst of them when I killed him, he died slowly. Anyways, she taught me how to make them since I was little, much to fathers dismay" She put the bottles back into her pack, and hoisted it back up. Beckoning them after her she took off down the road, leaving the smoldering pile of dead darkspawn behind them

"As for your second question Morrigan, if I had been wrong, I would be dead now wouldn't I?"

DA:O

Sitting around the fire that night Alistair watched their new companions. Lothering had been interesting to say the least. their little band now included a cloistered sister and a Qunari murderer. Kallian had been against the sister at first, but after some thought, they added her to the merry band of misfits. The Qunari was, well, frightening. He had supposedly killed 8 people, an entire family, yet Kallian had no reservations adding him to the group. Looking over at the elf Alistair sighed. Somehow she had become leader, making all the important decisions, which Alistair didn't understand. Not that he wanted to lead, but he had expected Aeden to lead, as he was a lords son, shouldn't it come naturally? No, he defered to Kallian. That wonderful elf from Denerim.  
>The Qunari, Sten, must have felt Alistair's eyes on him because he turned, and shot Alistair a dirty look. If looks could kill Alistair figured he would be meeting the maker. He turned to the fire and stared into it, thumbing the rose he had picked in Lothering. Glancing over to Kallian he saw her sitting on the ground sharpening her knives, Leliana, the cloistered sister, talking to her. No wait, not to her- AT her. Kallian wasn't paying any attention. Or not enough to look anything other than irritated. Alistair smiled to himself, her loved the way her brow crinkled when she was annoyed, a look she got quite often when she dealt with Morrigan. Looking at the rose in his hand again he smiled. He would give it to Kallian, just not tonight.<p>

DA:O

Kallian was about to explode, this shem just didn't shut up! She kept talking and talking, even though Kallian had long since stopped paying attention. This is why she hadn't wanted her to come, she had been able to tell right off the bat that she was a talker, and that wouldn't sit well with her. The Qunari, yes, he was fine, he didn't talk much, and if anyone could understand a misunderstanding about murder, it was Kallian. she was sure he had good reason to do it, and saw he felt remorse. Sighing she turned to Leliana and frowned

"Leliana I'm sorry, I'm very tired, and I got wounded earlier, I must sleep" The sister's eyes got large and she nodded emphatically

"Oh! Of course! I'm so sorry, I tend to babble sometimes, get some sleep. Goodnight!" Kallian smiled to herself as the shem walked off. Ha, that worked like a charm. She got up, picking up her whetstone and knives, and started to head towards her tent. When she got inside she saw Aeden sitting on her bedroll, looking bored.

"Hey, genius, wrong tent!" Aeden smirked, and looked up at his fellow rogue

"No, right tent, I wanted to talk to you privately, I'm bored, and Morrigan was bugging me again" Kallian rolled her eyes and flopped down next to him

"So, you want my help in pranking her?"

"Please?"

"If I say no?"

"Then I steal your smallclothes and put them in Alistairs tent" Kallian rolled her eyes

"I think he would be more upset by that then me, Chantry boy would be red for a week" Aeden chuckled and poked her in the side

"But I know YOU would be irritated because every time he looked at you he would stutter and get all flustered, making it difficult to get anything out of him" Kallian joined in his laughter and nodded

"You're right, that would drive me insane" Aeden whooped and hugged her, making her laugh harder and shove him off. Dane, hearing his master and his masters friend inside the tent, poked his head in. the elf rolled her eyes and waved the mabari in

"Well come on you fool dog, we can't prank her without YOU" Dane barked happily and shoved his way in, sitting himself in Kallians lap like he weighed ten pounds as opposed to the two hundred he did.

"OOF! You smelly oaf I'm to small for you to sit on, sit on Aedens head!" Dane just whined at her and layed down across her lap, Making Kallian sigh, but give up on getting him off her. Looking at Aeden she rolled her eyes

"So, any plans as to what you want to do to her?"

"None so far, I was hoping you would have an idea" Kallian frowned, and bit down on her bottom lip. She couldn't think of anything! Their resources were limited, and what little they had they would probably need later. But wait, what about that dwarf trader, Bodahn, outside? Maybe if he had a bracelet Kallian could make them metal shrink with the balm she bought off that mage...  
>An evil grin slid across her face, and she shoved Dane off, turning to Aeden telling him her plan. When she started to get to the point Lelianas head poked in, a frown on her face<p>

"You're going to prank Morrigan? Is that why you left?" Kallian frowned and looked at Aeden, who shrugged

"No, I was going to sleep, but he was waiting for me in here and is depriving me of my sleep. But since you're here, do you want to join us?" Leliana's face lit up and she nodded, entering the tent. the four of them promptly sat down and began discussing exactly how they would pull this off.

DA:O

"Kallian are you SURE this is gonna work?" Leliana asked again, making Kallian roll her eyes

"Yes, I'm sure, I did this to my cousin Soris, every time you try to pull it off, it shrinks, but when you let go, it goes back to its original size" Leliana nodded, and watched Sandal take the bracelet over to Morrigan. The witch looked up, took the bracelet, and nodded her thanks. Sandal ran back to Bodahn, who nodded to them. They had payed him rather well for both the bracelet and Sandals service. the three rogues watched as Morrigan put the bracelet on, admired it for a moment, then went to pull it off. The witch frowned at her wrist, just as Kallian said, the bracelet had shrunk just enough so she couldn't get it over her wrist. Inside Kallians tent, where they were watching, they fell over laughing silently. Morrigan was furious, and marched over to the fire where Alistair sat on first watch

"I know it was you! Fix it now!" Alistair looked up at the furious woman before him and frowned

"What are you talking about? Fix what? The fact your blue? I already told you, It will just come out" Morrigan waved her arm under his nose

"Don't play innocent with me! I know you did this, now take it off!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"The bracelet you fool! Take it off!" The two were standing in front of each other now, fairly screaming, as the culprits sat in the tent laughing. Alistair frowned at her and looked at her wrist, a confused look on his face

"Why do you need me to take off your bracelet? Do it yourself!" Morrigan glared and her hand inched towards her weapon, as did Alistairs. Just as they had planned, Bodahn came up, and pretended to be distressed

"Oh dear, looks like Sandal didn't listen" Morrigans head snapped over to him and she stared him down

"What are you talking about dwarf?"

"That bracelet, My son gave it to you didn't he? Well, I found it in an old abandon mages house, It was cursed, and I've been trying to find someone to get rid of the curse, but to no avail. Sandal, my son, thinks its pretty, and he gave it to the pretty lady, even though I told him not to" he said wringing his hands out.  
>Kallian clutched Aeden as they shook with laughter, Bodahn was a good actor!<br>Morrigan glared at the dwarf, then glared at Alistair

"Don't expect me to apologize" she said, before turning and walking off in a huff. Bodahn just shook his head, and went back to his cart, but Alistair wasn't fooled. He stood there silently for a moment before he heard the muffled laughter coming from Kallians tent.  
>He walked over to the tent, and opened the flap, exposing the three rogues, and Dane, all shaking in laughter, looking up at him. Sighing he put two and two together.<p>

"It wasn't cursed was it?" this gained fresh peals of laughter out of them and they fell over onto each other, unable to support themselves any longer. After a minute Alistair joined in, and they enjoyed watching Morrigan try and get it off. After several minutes they all calmed down and Alistair looked at Kallian, who had to be behind it all

"So, how long til she gets it off?" Sending them into laughter once again.

DA:O

Well, there it is. Once again I am so sorry I took so long to update. I hope to have chapter 8 up within a couple days. I'm thinking about adding Zevran in early, instead of waiting until the story is half over, what do you think?


	8. Chapter 8

_As you enter the chapter you see Alasse on the floor with paper strewn everywhere, looking in the corner you see two of Alasse's muses sitting with her, they look up and notice you, standing to greet you!_

Richard: Hello! Currently Alasse is having mental blocks against writing, so we're helping her. Also, she wishes you to know.  
>Through private message the people have voted, and it was a tie between the Circle and Redcliffe. So she drew out of a hat.<p>

Arwen: Sadly, she can't seem to get any good ideas, no matter the inspiration we offer.

Richard: Maybe we should get Rahl in here, or Yoda, they seem to inspire her when we can't

Arwen: No, don't worry, Haldir will be back from vacation soon, she'll be fine until then. Would you do the disclaimer while I go calm her? She is tugging at her hair again.

Richard: Sure! *Arwen leaves* Well, Alasse owns none of this, no matter how much she wishes to. Happy reading!

_**Hot and dangerous**_  
><em><strong>If you're one of us, then roll with us<strong>_  
><em><strong>'Cause we make the hipsters fall in love<strong>_  
><em><strong>And we've got hot-pants on and up<strong>_  
><em><strong>And yes of course we does we're running this town just like a club<strong>_  
><em><strong>And no, you don't wanna mess with us<strong>_  
><em><strong>Got Jesus on my necklace<strong>_  
><em><strong>-Ke$ha, We R Who We R<strong>_

DA:O

Alistair watched Kallian closely as she felled another darkspawn. She was quick, graceful, beautiful, and extremely violent. Nothing that ever faced her blade lived again. She made killing an art form, and it was one of the many things that was so fascinating about her. She made severing a head into a dance. Turning his attention back to the task at hand he took his shield, the one Kallian had found in the Tower of Ishal before they had been overrun, and slammed it into the nearest darkspawn. An arrow went whistling by his head and he turned, looking for the darkspawn that shot it, but all he saw was Kallian, standing with a little smirk on her face, and a look of satisfaction on her face, turning back to the pile of dead darkspawn Alistair saw a genlock with one of Kallians arrows imbedded in its forehead. He nodded to Kallian and she just smirked again, knocking another arrow. They dispatched the rest of the darkspawn quickly, and Alistair kicked the darkspawn that Kallian had saved him from in the head. Aeden looked at the warrior and chuckled.

"You almost got a haircut right there, Al. Good thing Kal runs this show, or you would have been a bit shorter" behind the young lord Leliana laughed as she plucked her arrows out of corpses. Morrigan stomped up and glared at them all, she was always impatient when it came to killing darkspawn, because they used her as a human torch afterwards.

"Would you please pile the bodies so I may burn them? Why must you always chatter senselessly?" she huffed, and walked off, leaving four confused people in her wake. Shrugging it off as her being Morrigan they, with Sten's help, piled the bodies for Morrigan to burn. Looking up at the sky Kallian frowned, it had been late when the darkspawn attacked, and now the sun was beginning to set. She turned to Aeden, who was watching Leliana closely. Smirking, she poked him in the ribs

"She is a lovely little Orlesian isn't she?" Aeden's head snapped toward's her and he frowned

"I don't know what you're talking about" the elf just raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a look that said '_of course you don't, because that was a REALLY convincing lie_'

"Whatever. Anyways, I think we should move a little further up the road, and camp. It's getting late, and I don't want to be traveling when there might be darkspawn about" Aeden nodded and turned to find Sten, who they found could be trusted with tasks like scouting. He may be huge, but he was deadly silent sometimes.

"Hey, Sten, could you go a bit further up the road and scout out a campsite?" The Qunari gazed at Aeden for a minute before nodding and running off silently into the wood. Shaking his head Aeden turned back to Kallian

"I still don't understand how you get along with him so well Kal, you seem to be the only person he likes in this whole group" She frowned in the direction Sten had just run

"I understand what its like for people to fear you for murder, I know the looks, and I can talk to him about it" Aeden frowned at her, and turned her to him

"You know you can talk to me, don't you?"

"I know, but there's something about talking to someone who has gone through what you have, its different" Aeden gave her a quick hug, before pulling away and adjusting the straps on his pack. He gave her a crooked smile as he pulled at the leather of his pack

"You know, it's a good thing my parents never met you. Elf or not, they would have pushed for me to marry you" Kallian wrinkled her nose at the thought, and shoved him away

"That's a terrible thought, you're like a brother, that would be disgusting" Aeden laughed and pushed her back

"Well all right, they might have tried to claim you were their long lost daughter or something then, you're so practical, you remind me of my mother sometimes" Kallian grinned and hooked her arm through his, slowly strolling down the road

"Well, I'm glad they would have liked me. I hope to meet Fergus someday, and yes, I believe he's still alive" Aeden smiled sadly at her

"I sure hope so"

DA:O

Leliana watched as Aeden and Kallian strolled down the road, talking quietly, and sighed sadly to herself. She noticed that they were practically attached at the hip, and it saddened her. She thought Aeden was sweet, and he seemed to like her, but at the same time he also seemed interested in Kallian. A throat was cleared next to her and she turned to find Alistair next to her. Blushing, she looked down. He shuffled his feet a little before speaking

"You know, I was curious one night, and talked to Aeden, convinced he and Kallian were a couple and he laughed at me" Leliana looked up at Alistairs smiling face, and gave him a confused look

"Why did he laugh at you?"

"Because Kallian is like his sister, he said. Those two see each other as siblings" With one last shy smile, Alistair walked off whistling. Leliana stared at his retreating back and grinned to herself. So Kallian wasn't competition? This made life so much easier.

DA:O

"Alistair, finish with that rabbit already! I want to eat some time tonight!" Kallian snapped at him, making him jump, and finish getting them meat off them for the stew. Next to Kallian Aeden was stretched out on the ground, grinning.

"You know Kal, I was thinking"

"So that's how you started the fire?"

"Ha. Ha. No, I had a real thought" he glared as she started laughing "Shut up. ANYWAYS. I think tomorrow we should let Alistair cook tomorrow and have Morrigan test it, you know, kill her off" Kallian, still chuckling, looked over at the witch, who's blue dye was coming out of her skin slowly, leaving her with blue spots

"Evil doesn't die that easy" this set the wardens laughing, as Leliana came and sat next to them

"Whats so funny?"

"Aeden was just saying how we could try and kill off Morrigan by feeding her Alistairs cooking"

"Oh, his cooking can't be that bad!"

"It is" answered all three wardens, making Leliana laugh. Sten, on the other side of the fire grunted, and turned away, not wishing to partake in the foolishness as he often said. Leliana looked into the pot and sniffed the air

"That smells good Kallian, where did you learn to cook" Kallian giggled and stirred the stew, taking the pieces of meat from Alistair and putting them in

"Well, my mother was a master rogue, and when she taught me to make poisons we always made sure we had something on the fire cooking just in case father came into the kitchen, he would just think we were cooking" Alistair raised an eyebrow, glancing warily at the pot

"Isn't that a little.. Dangerous? Cooking and poison don't mix well unless you're TRYING to kill someone"

"Oh hush, father is still alive, no one ever died" Kallian said adding more herbs into the pot. Aeden chuckled from his spot on the ground and poked her with his boot

"Notice she said no one died, she didn't say no one got sick" Kallian just stuck her tongue out at him as everyone laughed. Several minutes passed in silence, until Kallian spoke again.

"We need to decide where we're going to go next. I spent almost all day thinking about it, and I think we should go to Redcliffe first" Aeden sat up and nodded

"That seems like a decent idea, Arl Eamon will be able to help us, and we might be able to get horses" Kallian grinned but Aeden cut her off

"No, Kallian, Dane doesn't count as a pony" Leliana looked at them in confusion

"Of course not, why would someone call him a pony?" the wardens laughed, and Kallian whistled for Dane. The hound came and stood next to the small elf who proceeded to once again climb on his back and ride him around camp like a pony, making the other three laugh, and even Morrigan and Sten to crack smiles. Though very small.  
>Returning to the fire Kallian climbed off the hound and sat back down, tending her perfectly made stew. Leliana, who hadn't been there for the first time, grinned and pat Dane on the head.<p>

"Who knew mabari made such good ponies?" Aeden shook his head and mock glared at the chantry sister

"Don't you go encouraging her, it's bad enough as it is" Leliana raised her hands in surrender and laughed. The group sat chatting around the fire for a few minutes before Kallian declared the stew ready. The group ate their stew in a comfortable silence, before one by one they went off to bed.  
>Kallian said she would take first watch, and she settled down by the fire, arrows in hand, and started examining their fletching. Alistair watched her for a moment before deciding, once again, tonight was not the night to give her the rose, and he went into his tent to rest for the long hike to Redcliffe. As he was about to fall asleep he all the sudden had a horrible, gut-wrenching thought. He had told them he was raised in the chantry, they didn't know about his true father, and Arl Eamon. Cringing he rolled over. He would have to find the right time to tell them.<p>

DA:O

Kallian sat by the fire, trying to stay warm. The night was chilly, and something had her on edge. about an hour after everyone had gone to bed she got a strange feeling. It wasn't darkspawn, this was different. When she felt a shiver go up her spine she stood, circling the camp again, when she reached the southern edge she stopped, and the feeling she was being watched crossed her mind. Staring into the woods, she saw a dark shape move. She started to pull her knives, but before they were drawn, it darted away, silent and quick.  
>She stood there for several minutes until a hand on her shoulder made her jump. Pulling her knives and spinning around she saw Aeden, who's eyes were wide and he held his hands up so not to frighten her again.<p>

"Whoa, Kallian, relax. I took second watch, remember?" Kallian nodded, and put her knives back into their scabbards. She turned back and stared into the woods again, whatever had been in there, was gone now. Aeden looked at Kallian, then into the woods, knowing something was amiss.

"Kal, what's wrong?" sighing she turned to look at him.

"About an hour after you all went to bed I got the feeling I was being watched, it stayed all night, and I've been on edge. Finally, about five minutes ago I got up and circled the camp, and I stopped here, and saw something in the woods, I looked like that shape of a person, a real one, not a darkspawn" Aeden frowned, and looked into the woods. Trying to see anything.

"Alright, I think we should double the watch tonight, and you and I can scout for tracks in the morning, maybe we'll get some clue as to what it was" Kallian nodded, casting one last look into the woods. Aeden put his hand on her shoulder, making her look up at him

"Go wake Alistair, and then get some sleep, I'll make sure you're safe, I promise" the elf gave him a little half smile, and nodded, heading towards Alistairs tent.

DA:O

Alistair had just fallen asleep, he was blissfully dreaming of her, warm and comfortable in his bedroll. In his dream Kallian came towards him, a serene smile on her face, wearing a beautiful soft green dress. She started calling his name

"Alistair... Alistair!... Alistair if you don't wake up I'm going to poke you in the ass with my knife!" Wait a second. That's not something his dream would say. OH Holy Maker! Alistair shot up and looked around blearily for a moment. Kallian stared at him as he got his bearings. Looking at the elf he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes

"What's wrong? I wasn't supposed to take watch next was I?" Kallian shook her head, and frowned

"Aeden had me wake you, he wants you to take watch with him tonight, something was close to camp when I was on watch, and he thinks it will be safer if you're both on watch." Alistair frowned, and he saw something in Kallians eyes he hadn't seen before. Fear. Standing up he started pulling on his armor, and Kallian backed out of the tent, muttering her goodnights. before she could leave, Alistair grabbed her hand, making her freeze, and her eyes widen.

"Kallian, I promise, we'll keep you safe" she nodded, and snatched her hand back, hustling out of the tent. and into her own after a hug from Aeden. When Alistair was finished putting on his armor he went out and saw Aeden stoking up the fire, looking warily around. Sitting down next to the rogue Alistair sighed, and ran a hand through his hair

"What do you think Kallian saw?" Aeden frowned and scanned the edge of the forest

"I don't know, but I trust her, and whatever it was, isn't our friend"

"I'm guessing you set traps around the edge?" Aeden nodded, and moved a torch to his side. Alistair sighed and grabbed a torch as well. This was going to be a long night.

DA:O

The next morning everyone was tired, except Morrigan, who hadn't taken watch. Aeden and Kallian had gone into the woods as soon as it was light, and found that it had been a person in the woods. Kallian stared at the tracks, and frowned

"Aeden, these tracks, they arent human" Aeden bent down and looked at them turning his head he saw she was right, the feet were to small

"You're right, these are elf tracks. maybe we're being followed by a Dalish?" Kallian shook her head, pointing at the imprint of the boot.

"No, these aren't Dalish, look at that symbol right there, these were made in a city. Dalish boots wouldn't have a makers symbol on the bottom like that. Besides, I don't think that a single Dalish hunter would be this easy to track" She was right, Dalish were known for not being seen, not leaving tracks. Sighing Aeden stood up, looking warily around the area.

"I think we should get moving and get as far away from here as possible by tonight" Kallian agreed, and the two went back to camp where everyone looked up at them expectantly, Kallian was the one to answer the unasked question.

"We found tracks in the woods, elven tracks, not Dalish. We need to get moving, we need to be far away from here by tonight and hope we aren't followed" everyone set about breaking down the camp as quickly as possible after that. Even Morrigan seemed disturbed that someone was watching the camp. Leliana looked up, and saw Aeden staring at her. when she raised an eyebrow his ears turned pink, and he looked away. Grinning, Leliana went to Kallian and told her that she was ready to get moving. Eventually they all were packed, and they set off down the road, each of them hoping they wouldn't be followed.

DA:O

Alasse: Bah, that was difficult to write. To all of you who think this is a Kallian/Alistair romance, I'm sorry, it's not. I know that's what it looks like right now, but things will become more clear later in the story. Cookies to the person that can guess what was in the woods!


	9. Chapter 9

You walk in to the chapter to see Alasse once again on the floor, paper strewn everywhere, tugging at her hair. You also see Haldir, her main muse, is back, and pulling her hands from her hair so she doesn't rip it out. He looks up and holds a finger to his lips, signaling quiet, and holds a a large sign with red lettering that says "Alasse doesn't own it" you move to a chair in the corner to read the chapter without disturbing the already disturbed writer

* * *

><p>"My lord I had heard rumors of Grey Wardens who may have survived Ostagar, I went ahead and took care of the little problem for you" Rendon Howe said to Teyrn Logain as the Teyrn sat in his throne, running a hand through his hair. The man was already crumbling, and he had only called one landsmeet! Maybe this would be easier than Howe thought it would!<p>

"What do you mean, 'took care of it'?" the Teyrn asked, a deeper scowl than before on his face than before. Howe gave a short bow; his smirk widened.

"I thought that to deal with this problem we would need the best, and I got them. My lord I have hired the Crows to deal with it, they are tracking them down now," Loghain looked surprised for a moment, but nodded eventualy.

"Yes, that will be fine, you're right, we need the best," Bowing, Howe started backing out of the room. So much easier than he anticipated.

* * *

><p>The feeling that the group was being followed had come back a couple hours into their trek down the road, and Kallian was extremely jumpy. Aeden noticed it too, he knew they were being followed, and there was nothing they could do about it. They had quietly warned the group, and instantly everyone was battle ready. Moving to stand by Alistair, Kallian glared into the woods on the left of the road. The right side of the road was clear, so they knew where their little friend was. Alistair looked at the elf, a frown on his face<p>

"Kallian, glaring is just going to alert them we know they're following us, calm down, and focus on something," he whispered

"I know, I'm sorry, but I want to know why they don't just attack?"

"They seem to be alone, their probably leaving a trail," Kallian frowned, Alistair was probably right, they were leading more mercenaries to them most likely, if it even was a mercenary. Sighing she looked down at her feet, and studied her boots as she walked. It was quiet for a while, then a noise in the trees caught her attention. At first she thought they were finally attacking, but hoof-beats reached her ears, and she heard them riding away, up the road. She froze; Aeden, who had been behind her, walked right into her back. Everyone stopped and looked at the elf, who looked confused. Alistair turned her to him and searched her face for any sign of fear.

"Kallian, whats wrong?"

"They left"

"The person in the woods?"

"Yes, on horseback, they went... up? They went further up the road, not back the way we came!" Aeden frowned; looking up the road. Frowning, he turned to the rest of the group.

"Alright. Kallian, Alistair, Morrigan, and myself will head up the road and try to figure out what is going on. Leliana, you, Sten and Dane stay here. If we aren't back by nightfall set up camp."

Aeden turned down the road and didn't look to see if anyone was following him. This person had been following them, and he was determined to figure out why.  
>Kallian came up beside him, shooting a worried look at him,<p>

"Aeden? I think someone knows we're alive, even though we killed those men in Lothering. I think these people are after us, why track us otherwise?" She asked worriedly. Aeden bit his lip, slowly nodding in affirmation.

"I think so too, Kal, but we'll just have to deal with it."

"I know, but this will make things so much harder. We're in enough danger from darkspawn, we don't need a price on our heads." The group reached an area that was heavily wooded on either side; a cart overturned up ahead. As the four neared the cart a young woman came running towards them, panic written on her face.

"Oh thank the Maker! We need help, they attacked the wagon! Please, help! I'll lead you to them!" Kallian looked at the rest of the group, a frown on her face.

"Sounds like our mercenary struck someone finally," Aeden nodded; following the young woman who took off down the road. A little further ahead, they saw a lone figure standing by several wagons. As the woman neared, she slowed, stopped in front of the figure; nodded, moving back. The four, who had previously thought they were saving this woman from mercenaries, stopped. They walked right into a trap. Kallian, who was in the front, saw the figure; now distinguishable as a male elf, raise his arm. Suddenly a push from behind sent Kallian flying forward; a tree toppling were she and the others had previously been standing.  
>The elf pulled daggers out, glaring at the four he had been hunting.<p>

"The Grey Wardens die here!" The assassin's outnumbered them, but the wardens far outstripped them in skill. At first everyone seemed to take off in different directions. Kallian went straight for the elf, Aeden watched her back and killed the assassin's around them, while Alistair and Morrigan went to the left and right. Kallian engaged the elf in battle, intent on not killing him, but getting him subdued for questioning. She was aware of the fight going on around her, Aeden sticking close so she didn't get stabbed in the back, but her focus was on the elf. He was talented, she would give him that, but Kallian was better. He danced around her, and the fight between them seemed to last forever, but finally Kallian was able to get behind him and hit him in the back of the head with the pommel of her knife. Turning away from the other elf the warden looked around and saw her companions rounding up the remaining assassin's and dispatching them. Soon the fighting was over and the group joined back up. Kallian called them over to the unconscious elf, who was sprawled on the ground.

"I just knocked him out, I want to see what kind of information we can get from him." Alistair frowned, and pulled his sword back out, not liking the idea of her questioning the assassin. Leaning forward Kallian shook the elf awake, slowly he began waking up, groaning and clutching his head.

"Ugh I.. what? Oooh no. I rather hoped I would wake up dead, or not wake up at all as the case may be. I see you haven't killed me yet.."

"No, I have some question's for you."

"Ah. So I am to be interrogated? Let me save you some time. My name is Zevran, Zev to my friends. I am a member of the Antivan Crows brought here for the sole purpose of slaying any surviving Grey Wardens, which I failed at, sadly." Aeden and Kallian looked at each other. Logahin knew they were alive. Turning back to elf Kallian glared.

"You know, I'm pretty happy you failed"

"As would I be, were I in your shoes. For me, however, it set's a rather poor precedent. Getting captured by a target is a tad detrimental to ones budding assassin career" Aeden snorted in laughter next to Kallian, mocking the blonde elf on the ground.

"To bad for you then."

"Yes it's true, to bad for me." Kallian glared at Aeden, now was NOT the time for mockery.

"So, an Antivan Crow after Grey Wardens. Who hired you?"

"A rather taciturn fellow at the capital, Howe I believe. He worked for a Loghain fellow" Kallian's head snapped over to look at Aeden who's face clouded over. Of course Howe would be behind this, the bastard.

"Are you loyal to them?"

"I have no idea what his issues are with you, the usual I presume. You threaten his power, yes? Beyond that, no, I am not loyal to him. I was contracted to perform a service."

"And now you've failed?"

"Well that's between Loghain and the Crows; between the Crows and MYSELF and..."

"Between you and us?"

"Isn't that what we're establishing now?" Aeden pulled Kallian away for a moment, out of earshot of the assassin.

"Kal, what if Howe knows I'm alive? He might send more than an assassin after us"

"Aeden, let me finish questioning him, we can talk afterwards, ok?" Aeden growled, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Kal I don't like that it was Howe, that's some of the worst knew we've had in a while"

"I know, but right now, I have a prisoner to interrogate" She walked back to the elf, who had watched her and Aeden with interest.

"When were you going to meet Howe again?"

"I wasn't, If I had succeeded I would have returned home and the Crows would have informed your Howe of the results, if he didn't already know. If I had failed, I would be dead, or should be at least as far as the Crows are concerned"

"If you failed? Low chances of succeeding now."

"What can I say? I am an eternal optimist!"

"So, why have you told me all this, you're rather glib for someone being held prisoner."

"Why not? I wasn't paid for silence! Not that I offer it exactly..." Kallian's eyebrows shot up

"You aren't loyal to your employers?" Zevran grinned at her. Well, it was more of a leer, but Kallian ignored it.

"Loyalty is an interesting concept. If you wish, and you're done interrogating me, we can discuss it further."

"I'm listening, make it fast though, I grow tired of speaking" Zevran grinned again

"Well here's the thing. I failed to kill you so my life is forfeit, that's how this works. If you don't kill me, the Crows will. The thing is, I like living, and you are obviously the sort to give the Crows pause, so let me serve you instead." This was not what Kallian expected, glancing over at Aeden, he looked surprised too. She frowned at the other elf, could she trust him?

"Can I expect the same amount of loyalty from you?" Zevran appeared genuinely shocked

"I will have you know I am a very loyal person! Up to the point where you expect me to die for failing. But that is hardly a fault, unless you're the same kind of person, then I don't come very well recommended do I?"

"And just, why, pray tell, would I want to take you?"

"Why? Because I am skilled at many things from fighting, to stealth and picking locks! I could also warn you should the Antivan Crows attempt something more sophisticated now that I have failed. I could also stand around and look pretty if you prefer! Warm your bed, fend off unwanted suitors, no?" Kallian chuckled

"Bed-warming might be nice" Aeden laughed next to her but Alistair scowled. Morrigan just rolled her eyes and strolled away, the conversation losing interest for her. Zevran smiled at his fellow elf.

"See! I knew we could find a common interest. Or two... Or three! I can go all night really. So what will it be? I will even shine armor, you won't find a better deal I promise." Kallian looked at Aeden, who shrugged. The offer was good, and it's not like they couldn't kill him later. Kallian smirked, and held her hand out to the elf on the ground

"Very well, I accept your offer. But any funny business and I have you over to the Qunari and let him use you for sword practice" Alistair, however, would have none of this.

"You have got to be kidding! We're taking the assassin with a us now? Does that really seem like a good idea?" Kallian turned to Alistair and frowned

"Don't worry so much, we can use him."

"Hmph. Alright, alright. I can see you're point. Still, if there was a sign we were desperate I think it just knocked on the door and said hello" Kallian grinned, and turned back to Zevran, pulling him up. He smiled, and bowed a little.

"I hereby pledge my oath of loyalty to you until such a time you choose to release me from it. I am your man, without reservation. This I swear." Kallian nodded and grinned.

"Just remember what I said Crow, one misstep and you're a Qunari target." Zevran frowned and looked around, a confused look on his face.

"Speaking of the Qunari, where are the rest of your companions? I seem to recall a dog and another female as well." Kallian gasped

"It WAS you in the forest last night! Ha! I knew it was a city elf! Our companions are waiting for us down the road, I heard you ride off and we came up to investigate" Zevran frowned and held a hand up.

"Wait a moment, what about someone riding off? We had no horse, as you can see. I left last night and never returned" Aeden and Kallian looked at each other worriedly, Aeden saying what was on both their minds

"Howe"

"It has to be, he must know you're alive" Aeden cursed and stomped off, climbing over the toppled tree and storming down the road toward the rest of the group. With a sigh Kallian turned to Zevran.

"Come on Crow, it's going to be a long night."

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><p>Alasse: Oh hello! Haldir finally told me you were here! I am starting another story, and got kinda frazzled. Anyways, I just couldn't wait to add Zevran, he makes the game for me. next chapter, our wardens get closer to redcliffe! and Alistair tries to tell Kallian what he thinks of her! Also! I am looking for someone to make some artwork of Kallian and Aeden. Message me for detailed descriptions if you feel like helping me out.<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

Alasse: Greetings and salutations! On a short note, the stress I have been facing is getting a lot worse, but I will try and update more. This is going to be Zevran's first chapter.

Fred: Which mean you will be seeing

George: Lots of us!

Alasse: Oh dear lord... HALDIR! *wanders off to find her main muse to control the twins who are currently setting up a fireworks display*

Fred: Well, Alasse probably would want us to do the disclaimer,

George: Seeing as she wandered off, so here goes *Fireworks explode behind them*

Together: ALASSE OWNS NOTHING! *Alasse and Haldir come running in*

Alasse: YOU BLEW UP MY DISCLAIMER! *Chases after the twins*

Haldir: *sigh* As the twins said, she doesn't own it. Now, happy reading, I have to go stop her before she kills them..

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><p>Kallian smiled, listening as Zevran, their newest companion, made himself right at home. Maybe the guy wasn't so bad? Currently he was bugging Morrigan, who was quickly tiring of his constant questions.<p>

"Go away elf"

"But my dear lady, I have no pillow to sleep on... May I rest on your bosom?"

"NO!"

"Please?

"I said NO! KALLIAN! Call him off!" Kallian chuckled, and shook her head, but helped none the less.

"Zevran, leave Morrigan alone." The other elf grinned, and left the swamp witch to come sit next to Kallian. Kallian just ignored him, and kept inspecting her arrows, as she did every night.

"Now my dear, you simply MUST tell me all about yourself."

"No, I don't want to." Zevran 'tsked' at her, and shook his head.

"You do not want you newest companion to feel comfortable with your little group? For all I know you could be a wanted murderer!" Kallian froze, and slowly turned to look at Zevran.

"That would be because I am. Not that it should bother you. Assassin."

"Oh really, now that I have a hard time believing."

"Well don't, its common knowledge. I killed the Arl of Denerims son, and about half their castle guard."

"Oh really, and if I asked say, any of your companions, they would verify this?"

"Aeden was there. Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Do you ALWAYS talk this much?"

"It is a gift" Kallian rolled her eyes and went back to her arrows, trying to ignore the chuckling Antivan next to her. Looking across the fire she saw Alistair, who seemed to be staring. She winked, and laughed as he turned red and walked over to talk to Sten.

"He seems to have developed a little crush, surely you don't need ME for bed-warming?" Kallian threw back her head and laughed.

"Chantry boy? Warm my bed? One, never gonna happen; two, he wouldn't know what to do even if I did invite him."

"Is that so?"

"His nickname is Chantry boy."

"Brother turned fighter? How odd."

"Not really, he was a templar." Aeden wandered over to them at this point, and sat down heavily.

"Ugh, I'm going to need new boots soon" Kallian looked at him, a little surprised

"Really? Why? I thought you would have had new boots," she said, inspecting his shoe herself. The boots looked like he had used them as targets. He smiled sheepishly and shook his head.

"No, father tried to get me to wear knew ones, but I so wisely said 'Oh father what do you think I'll be doing the rest of my life, tromping around Ferelden?'" Kallian threw her head back and laughed, but Zevran, who Kallian had forgotten was there, was curious.

"And why not? Isn't that what most warriors do? It is not like we live in luxury my friend." Still chuckling Kallian turned to him.

"Aeden isn't like most people, and neither am I. I don't think any Grey Warden lives a normal life."

"Oh really, and how are you two different?"

"I don't think you need to know that yet assassin."

"Oh but how will I protect you as I have sworn? I simply must know about your past. Maybe know who to watch for so they don't have the chance to get at you!"

"I can describe someone for you. He's about your height, about your skin color, has tattoo's much like yours, talks to much and is getting on my bad side by asking to many questions."

"Ah, he must be very handsome!" Aeden chuckled from his spot on the ground. Finally someone other than him that didn't cringe when Kallian used that tone.

"If by handsome you mean he looks like he got beaten with the ugly stick? Yes. You would be correct."

"Oh my dear, you wound me."

"I am not your 'dear', and I will soon if you don't stop talking so much." She stood and brushed herself off, gathering her things. Turning to Aeden she nodded goodnight, and went to her tent without another word. Aeden shook his head at Zevran, a small smile on his lips.

"You know, you are the first person I've met who doesn't cringe at her threats." Zevran grinned at his fellow rogue.

"I am a Crow good sir, or was, I don't shy away from pain, I embrace it." Aeden just shook his head and stood, turning to go to bed. Zevran smiled to himself. This might be easier than he thought. However, as soon as he thought that the Qunari stationed himself right in front of Aeden and Kallian's tents, preparing for first watch. Maybe not...

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><p>"Kal, wake up." Aeden was trying to wake the sleeping elf, she didn't want to seem to get up, and they needed to get moving soon.<p>

"Kallian... KAL?" Sighing Aeden ran a hand through his hair. The flap behind him opened up to reveal Zevran, who smirked at the human.

"Ah my friend, you haven't learned the art of waking elven women? Let me show you." The elf got on his knees next to the female, leaning down close to her face, and licked her ear. Kallian shot up and stared around wide eyed. Zevran looked quite please with himself as he watched Aeden fall over laughing.

"See my friend, couldn't be simpler." Kallian glared at Zevran, who just looked back with an amused expression.

"Why did you have to teach him that little trick? Stupid Antivan... Both of you get out RIGHT NOW!" The two left the tent of the irate female. On the way out they passed Alistair.

"What on earth did you two do to Kallian?" Aeden looked back at the elf's tent, still hearing the grumbling from inside.

"Oh, Zevran was just showing me how to wake Kallian up a little quicker." Alistair looked like he wanted to ask more, but was afraid to. He let the two pass, and looked over at Kallians tent to see the angry little archer climbing out. Something told him it was going to be a long day.

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><p>Short, I know. But I'm tired, and I have a long work week. I hope to post by Friday, but I have my sisters wedding to prep for and I'm seeing the new Harry Potter on Wens...<br>REVIEW!


	11. Chapter 11

Hello! Do to the flood of PM's I got regarding this story, it WILL continue. However, it is no longer my priority, and I am mainly working on my other fan fiction (LOTR fans should check it out ^_^). This chapter is dedicated to my reviewer, RubyNorman. Get well my friend!  
>FYI, the gummy bear song makes it difficult to focus on writing. I was tempted to make my Wardens sing it while beheading things, but something told me it wouldn't quite fit.<br>Disclaimer: I was playing in EA's sandbox and borrowed some things. I don't own them :)

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><p>"I'm hungry."<p>

"You already said that Kal."

"Is there any cheese left?"

"No, Alistair ate it."

"Aeden why'd you tell her?"

"Well you DID!"

Zevran listened to the three wardens argue with interest. They seemed to have already forgotten that he had been hired to kill them. They had no clue he would attempt again. Pulling bread out of his bag he moved up next to Kallian.

"Here, my dear, you can have this for now." She glared at him but didn't take it. Instead, she sneered at the bread.

"Ha! I'm not taking anything from YOU, assassin." Alright, so maybe Kallian hadn't forgotten. Shrugging the elf put the bread pack into his pack and dropped back a little further. The four were almost to Redcliffe, having separated from the others three days ago. They figured it would be best to take a small group in, it was less intimidating. And Kallian had said there was NO WAY Zevran was being left alone. So, three rogues and a warrior went to Redcliffe. Ugh, it sounded like the beginning of a bad joke. They turned down a dirt road, and when they got to a bridge they stopped. Alistair looked back at the group.

"Look, before we go into Redcliffe there's something you should know. I, um, probably should have told you this earlier." Kallian gave the warrior a funny look and Aeden looked wary.

"Whats on your mind?"

"I told you two about Arl Eamon and about my mother being a serving girl in the castle and how he took me in. The reason he did that is because, well, because my father was King Maric. Making Cailan my - Half brother I suppose." It went deadly silent, and Zevran watched with rapt attention. This was getting good! Suddenly, though not surprisingly, Kallian lauched herself at the warrior, hands around his neck, banging his head on the ground.

"YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU COULD HAVE TOLD US BEFORE? MAKER HELP ME I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Aeden rushed forward and pulled the small elf off Alistair with some difficulty. Zevran was now sitting on the ground laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. This was priceless! Kallian struggled against Aedens hold, and snarled at Alistair.

"You idiot this makes a world of difference! What if Loghain knows?" Alistair slowly stood up, rubbing his head and neck where the tiny elf attacked him.

"Listen I would have told you but it never meant anything to me! I was inconvenient, a threat to Cailan's rule. So I was kept a secret. I have never told anyone." Kallian struggled a bit more before giving up. Her head snapped up to Aeden, who didn't look fazed at all.

"How are you not shocked by this?" Aeden shrugged, carefully letting her go.

"He looks like Maric, and Cailan too. They have the same nose. And hair." Kallian glared once more, and straightened her pack.

"Fine, as long as no one knows it doesn't matter," she said, obviously in a huff. "Anything else you're hiding?"

"Other than my unholy love of fine cheeses and an obsession with my hair? No, just the prince thing." That made Kallian smile a little bit. Her smile turned into a smirk and they looked worried.

"So should I call you Prince Alistair now?"

"Maker no. I have never had any illusions about my status. I am a commoner, and now a Grey Warden and in NO way in line for the throne." Kallian just smirked and started walking down the hill.

"Whatever you say... Your Highness." Aeden laughed, but Alistair just groaned. True, she was taking it better than he thought, but she wasn't going to let this go for a while. Walking to the bridge they saw a civilian standing there. Alistair hung back with Zevran and let Kallian and Aeden handle this. After a moment of speaking with the man they flagged the elf and warrior over.

"We're going into the village. We need to see Bann Teagan." Alistair frowned at Aeden.

"But we're here to see Eamon. We should go to the castle." Kallian shook her head.

"No, the village. Something is happening, and they are being attacked at night. The attackers are coming from the castle. Aeden will explain on the way down." She turned and trotted after the young man who had been on the bridge, going down to the village. On the way down Aeden told Alistair about what was going on. It sounded bad, and like Eamon was in trouble. The young man, Tomas his name was, took them to the Chantry in the village. Kallian stopped in front of Bann Teagan, looking shy all the sudden. Aeden laughed at her as she stared wide eyed at the Bann. He just looked at their guide.

"It's... Tomas yes? And who are these people with you? They are obviously not simple travelers." Aeden came up from behind Kallian.

"Oh come on Bann Teagan, don't tell me you forgot who I am, I'll be crushed." Seeing Aeden his eyes went wide.

"Aeden? Aeden Cousland?" He asked, his eyes roamed the group and saw Alistair. "And Alistair? This is wonderful news! I thought you were both dead!" Teagan embraced Aeden. His eyes scanned the rest of the group and narrowed at the two elves.

"Who are your traveling companions?" Kallian kicked at an invisible rock, and Zevran gave a handsome smile. Aeden realized Kallian was not going to introduce herself and took over.

"This lovely lady is Kallian, a fellow Grey Warden, and the other is Zevran a... Well, his name is Zevran." Alistair stifled a laugh behind him.

"Welcome to Redcliffe. I am so glad to see some of you are still alive."

"Alive for now, though not for long if Loghain has anything to say about it." Alistair said with a bitter look. Teagan nodded, his face going sour.

"Indeed. Loghain would have us all believe that the Grey Wardens all died along side my nephew, as well as other things." Kallian's head snapped up and looked at the young Bann.

"You don't believe Loghains lies, do you?"

"What? That he pulled his men just in time to save them? That Cailan risked everything for glory? Hardly. Loghain calls the wardens traitors. Murderers of the king. I don't believe it, it is the act of a desperate man." Kallian smiled at him. Finally, they had an ally. He looked over at Kallian and smiled back.

"So my lady, you are a Grey Warden as well? Is it possible we have met? You seem familiar." Kallian turned red and looked at Aeden, wide eyed. The other two wardens looked like they were trying not to laugh, and Zevran and Teagan looked confused. Aeden came to her rescue.

"No, you've never met. Forgive Kallian, she is shy unless she has some alcohol in her." Kallian punched his arm, completely mortified at this point, and Teagan nodded slowly, obviously not buying it. To try and make the conversation move away from dangerous waters, Kallian turned to the Bann.

"We need to see Arl Eamon, is he here?" Teagan frowned.

"No. That will be a problem. Eamon is gravely ill. No one has heard from the castle in days. No one patrols the walls, and no one responds to my shouts. The attacks started a few nights ago. Evil.. things... surged from the castle. Many have perished in the attacks, though we did push them back." Kallian looked at Aeden, who returned her gaze with an almost pleading look of his own. She sighed, and nodded to him. Turning back to the Bann she looked him in the eye.

"We can help you drive them back." He just stared at her for a moment before responding.

"Thank you. Thank you! This means more to me than you can know. Tomas, go tell Murdock what has transpired, then return to your post." Tomas nodded and went off. "Now then, there is much to do before night falls, I have put two men in charge of the defenses outside, Murdock, the village mayor, is outside the chantry; Ser Perth, one of Eamon's knights is at the top of the hill by the windmill, watching the castle. You may discuss with them the preparations of the coming battle." Kallian nodded, and turned to Aeden.

"I think one of us should stay in here for now, help make sure the chantry is as safe as possible, the other three go outside and deal with the defenses." Aeden got a wicked grin and Kallian gulped.

"Of course Kal, you can stay and help Bann Teagan. Come on Al, Zev. Let's go find Murdock." He turned and led the other two out, laughing all the way. Leaving a glaring Kallian behind. this was NOT what she had in mind.

"My lady does my presence make you uncomfortable?" It took all Kallians strength not to groan. Instead she pasted a smile on her face and turned to face the Bann.

"Of course not my lord, I simply dislike being stuck inside." He nodded, once again not buying it. She sighed and looked around at the window that weren't covered.

"I need a hammer, nails; wood, and a ladder." He nodded and led her to a stock room, helping her grab the items. She was bent over the tools in the stock room, looking for a hammer when he spoke.

"We HAVE met before haven't we?" Her blush returned and he grinned, knowing they had.

"We have, but we didn't really speak," she mumbled, "You saved me from being flogged once." He frowned, and then the memory hit him.

"You were the elf in the fountain!" Kallian groaned, and stood, hammer in hand.

"I was, and thank you for not letting your brother flog me. I am going to go over there now, and hide. Faaar away from any fountains." She rushed off to the other side of the chantry and started moving furniture around, towards the doors as a barricade. Teagan found some nails, and grabbed a ladder. He took them to a window and flagged her over. She was still red, and he faught laughter.

"We dont have any spare wood, so what do you propose?" She frowned, looking around. When she looked back at him she looked sheepish.

"Maker forgive me for defiling his chantry," was all she said before she took her hammer and, walking over to one of the benches, swung at the back board and took it off. Seeing what she was doing he joined in. He gave her a smile as they took apart the benches.

"Now why didn't I think of this? Such a simple solution." She just grunted and pulled at a board that still had nails in the bench. Eventually they took apart enough benches that they could board up the windows, and set to work. It took them a while, and when they were putting up the last board, the doors of the chantry burst open. Kallian was on the ladder, and when the huge doors burst open she jumped a bit, almost falling off. A hand pressed into her back before she did and she looked down, seeing Bann Teagan smiling up at her.

"You should be careful, it would be tragic to lose a lovely lady such as yourself." She stared at him, looking frightened, and froze. Her reaction was not what he was expecting and he frowned.

"Forgive me, I was to bold." She swallowed and nodded, climbing off the ladder and running to Aeden who had just come in. she halted in front of him, a questioning look on her face.

"Well? Is everything outside ready?"

"Yes, we found some oil in the general store that we're going to light. What was that about with Teagan?" Kallian frowned. She had hoped he hadn't seen that.

"Aeden I still don't trust shems. You and Alistair? Yes. Leliana? Yes. Morrigan... Well, I don't think anyone trusts her, but I know she won't rape me in my sleep. The rest of these shems I know nothing of, and I don't trust them. He got a bit.. Flirtatious. I was reminded of Vaughn. It scared me." Aeden frowned at her.

"I understand. Go outside and have Alistair take you up to the windmill. I'll finish up in here, it's almost dark." She gave him a tight lipped smile and went outside. Aeden walked up to Teagan who looked concerned.

"I didn't upset her did I? I have a terrible habit of flirting with beautiful woman." Aeden shook his head.

"Just... Watch it with her. She's been through a rough time, and she has a tough time trusting humans. Try not to flirt with her, it frightens her." Teagan frowned but agreed, making Aeden smile. The warden walked up to the windows and looked around.

"You did good work. Are those the benches on the windows?" Teagan laughed.

"Yes, Lady Kallian's idea. She seemed to enjoy tearing them to pieces." Now it was Aedens turn to laugh. It sounded like Kal. She WOULD enjoy tearing apart a chantry. Turning to Teagan he put a hand on the tired mans shoulder.

"Don't worry Teagan. We scrounged up a couple more fighters, and we won't let anything happen to the village. Now I have to go, make sure to barricade the door." Aeden strode out the door. Now to defend a village from things that are already dead...

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><p>"CHOP OFF THE HEADS!" Kallian shouted, as she herself decapitated one of the living dead that were attacking the village. People scrambled around, chopping heads off and making sure the creatures didn't get back up. Aeden was at Kallians back, they were making sure nothing snuck up on the other.<p>

"You know Aeden, I think this is by far the worst night of my life."

"I don't know- DIE SCUM! - this is pretty fun, you know -OK that's IT! -I enjoy chopping heads off of zombies." So far the village had only had one death, and the night was more than half over.

"Not funny Aeden! DUCK!" the two ducked down and a sword whistled over their heads. Kallian chopped the creatures leg off, making it crumple to the ground before she, once again, chopped its head off. Looking over to the chantry she saw one of the creatures hacking at the door.

"Aeden! the chantry! Cover me!" She darted off through the bodies, Aeden following her to make sure nothing hacked her head off as she ran. She reached the chantry door and saw the stupid thing was already making a hole in the door.

"HEY! UGLY!" the zombie turned and Kallian chopped its head off, getting old blood all over her.

"Ugh, that was a fresher body, still had blood." Aeden laughed, while chopping the arm off another of the creatures. Kallian and Aeden quickly launched themselves back into the fray. The fight was long, and they were tired. slowly the beasts lessened, and the sky started to lighten. Eventually they beasts stopped attacking, and the sun crept over the horizon. Aeden walked over to Kallian, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I take back what I said earlier. You're right. Worst night of my life." Kallian grinned and looked him up and down.

"I must say, you look disgusting."

"Same to you." Zevran trudged up to them and they grinned at him.

"Hey look! Zevran looks disgusting too, lets start a club!" Kallian laughed and shoved Aedens shoulder. Zevran glared at them both.

"I never want to do that again," the Antivan said. Kallian grinned but Aeden beat her to the inevitable smart assed remark.

"Oh come on, you didn't enjoy that? It was like a party! With dead things! And swords, swords are fun." Kallian laughed and slapped his arm.

"Shut up, I am gonna go tell the villagers it's safe to come out." Aeden grinned one last time before going off to help with the piles of headless bodies. Kallian dragged her tired feet up to the chantry doors and banged on them.

"Bann Teagan! The village is safe, we have won!" Kallian heard things shifting on the other side of the doors and after a moment Bann Teagan opened the door, letting her in. She slipped in the door and pulled him aside.

"Bann Teagan, the village is safe but the scene outside.. Well anyone with a weak stomach should stay in here." He looked her up and down and nodded. She realized she was covered in gore and cringed, maybe she should have washed off before coming in.

"Thank you, you don't know what this means to me." Kallian nodded and went to go back outside but the Bann caught her arm. She turned back to him, and glared but he just smiled.

"I mean it, I am truly grateful." She stared for a moment before responding.

"You are welcome." She once again turned, and went to head out the door, and this time Teagan swore he heard her mumble, "Crazy shem and his odd smiling..." The door closed behind her and he laughed.

* * *

><p>"With the Makers favor the blow we delivered today is enough for me to enter the castle and seek out your arl!" The village for the most part had been cleaned up and the people gathered outside to listen to Bann Teagan<p>

"Be watchful and look for signs of renewed attack. We will return with news as soon as we are able." The people went off to their homes and Bann Teagan turned to the wardens.

"Now, we have no time to waste. Meet me at the mill, I will explain everything there." The Bann ran off, leaving them to follow at their own pace. Kallian sighed and turned to Aeden who shrugged. The four companions who, for the record, were still disgusting, set off to the windmill. Kallian had never been so tired in her whole life. Hours of fighting, no sleep; no food, and no healer. Ugh, She was going to sleep for a week when this was over. They got to the top of the hill, and Aeden walked up to Teagan. They started to formulate some plan, but Kallian's tired mind wandered. Her eyes strayed to Zevran. The elf had faught well all night, but was looking fatigued just like her. She honestly had expected him to sneak off in the confusion of battle last night, but he hadn't. In fact, he had saved her life once. Huh, maybe he was seeing the light. Bann Teagans shout pulled her from her thoughts.

"Makers breath!" He pointed to the hill behind the wardens; they turned to see a middle aged woman running down it. She spoke in a horrid accent that made Kallian wish there were undead around instead of this woman.

"Teagan!" The woman shouted, except to Kallian it sounded more like 'TEEGAHN!' ugh.

"Thank the maker you yet live!" The woman with the horrid accent said. Looking at Bann Teagan she could tell this woman showing up was a good thing however.

"Isolde! You're alive! How did you... What has happened?" The Bann finished lamely.

"I do not have much time, I slipped away from the castle as soon as I saw the battle was over and I must return quickly. And I... Need you to return with me Teagan. Alone." Kallian watched the woman, she was hiding something, and Aeden seemed to notice it too. Kallian, however, beat him to the punch.

"Why don't we ALL go to the castle?" The annoying woman, Isolde, turned to Kallian and glared, which Kallian wholeheartedly returned.

"I, what? Who is this woman Teagan?" Ugh, this woman got more annoying by the second. Alistair jumped in.

"You remember ME Lady Isolde, don't you?" The banshee looked at him in disgust.

"Alistair? Of all the.. What are YOU doing here?" Bann Teagan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"They are Grey Wardens, Isolde. I own them my life." Suddenly the woman's whole demeanor changed.

"Pardon me, I would exchange pleasantries but considering the circumstances..." And in came Alistair to save the day.

"Please, Lady Isolde we had no idea anyone in the castle was alive. You MUST have some answers." The woman sighed.

"Please, I know you need more of an explanation but I don not know what is safe to tell." She took a large step towards Teagan and got inches away from his face. Hasn't this woman ever heard of personal space?

"Teagan there is a terrible evil within the castle. The dead wake and haunt the living! The mage responsible was caught but still it continues. And I think... I think Connor is going mad. We have survived but he won't flee the castle. He has seen so much death! You must help him Teagan, you are his uncle! You could reason with him! I do not know what else to do!" Kallian glared, this was a trap, it had to be. Aeden seemed to think along the same lines, but stayed on safe ground.

"What about Arl Eamon? Is he still alive?" He asked. Isolde nodded.

"He is. He is being kept alive so far, thank the Maker." Kallians eyes widened. That in no way sounded good.

"Kept alive?" Bann Teagan asked, worry etched into his voice. "Kept alive by what?"

"Something the mage unleashed. So far it allows Eamon, Connor and Myself to live. The others are not so fortunate, it has killed so many and turned their bodies into walking nightmares! Once it was done with the castle, it struck the village. It wants us to live but I do not know why! It allowed me to come for you Teagan because I begged, because Connor needed help!" Kallian looked at Aeden who looked thoughtful.

"Could this evil you mentioned be a demon perhaps?" Isolde went white at Aeden's question, as did Bann Teagan.

"I do not know! Oh Makers mercy, could it truly be a demon?" She now started to get hysterical. "I can't let it hurt my Connor! You must come back with me Teagan! Please!" The woman broke into sobs and they all stood there, trying to figure out what to do.

"So... Why must Teagan go alone?" Kallian carefully asked.

"For Connors sake! I promised I would I would return quickly and only with Teagan!" She turned to Teagan. "Teagan I know you could order your men to follow me up to the castle but I beg you not to, for Connors sake." Kallian started to get really angry at this point. This kid Connor better be made out of solid gold or can fly, because this was getting ridiculous.

"Enough talking, we need to decide what to do. Now," the irritated elf snapped. She could tell by the look on Zevrans face he was glad she ended it. Teagan thought about it for a moment before answering.

"The king is dead, and we need my brother now more then ever, I will return to the castle with you Isolde."

"Oh thank the Maker! Bless you Teagan! Bless you!" Kallian ground her teeth; Aeden kicked her before she could say anything.

"It seems you have little choice." Teagan nodded at him.

" I have no illusions about dealing with this evil alone, you all, on the other hand, have proven quite formidable. Isolde, can you excuse us for a moment? I must confer in private before I return with you."

"Please do not take to long, I will be by the bridge." When she left, Teagan turned to them.

"Here is what I propose. I go in with Isolde, and you get in to the castle through the secret passage, my signet ring unlocks the door. Perhaps I will distract whatever evil is inside and increase your chances of getting in unnoticed. What do you say?" Kallian was furious. No, not because it was a bad plan. But it was risky. Looking at Aeden she could tell that while he didn't like the plan, he knew the same thing she did. It was their only chance. Sighing, she looked up at Teagan.

"What exactly are we supposed to do in there?"

"I wish I knew. I do not know more about this evil force than Isolde seems to. Ser Perth and his men can watch for trouble at the castle entrance, if you can open the gates they can move in and help you. I don't think theres anyone else who can help you. If you choose not to go, then its up to me to do what I can. Here is my signet ring, it will open the lock on the door in the mill.

"Whatever you do, EAMON is the priority here. If you have to, just get him out of there. Isolde, me and the others, we are expendable." Kallian frowned at the signet ring.

"I don't believe that, I will rescue you all; I promise." Bann Teagan smiled at her.

"You are brave as well as beautiful it seems. The maker smiled on me indeed when he sent you to Redcliffe. If only this had been..." He trailed off and Kallian turned red, Aeden smirked at them.

"I can delay no longer. Good luck to you all." Teagan gave Kallian one last look, and ran off to meet Isolde. Alistair grabbed the female elf's arm, and dragged her to the windmill.

"Come on, we need to get in there."

"Ouch, Al you're hurting me." Alistair glared but released her. He stomped off to the windmill and went inside. Kallian turned to Zevran and Aeden, surprise written on her face.

"What in the name of Andrastes holy undergarments was that about?" Zevran snickered at her and Aeden faught laughter.

"He, uh, must be worried about Eamon, you know?" Kallian nodded, but narrowed her eyes. That was the worst lie Aeden ever told. Whatever, They didn't have time for this. Kallian marched into the windmill, finding Alistair just inside the door. She glared at him and marched to the little trap door in the straw. using the signet ring she opened it, revealing a secret passage with no ladder, and a seemingly long drop. Looking in, Zevran frowned.

"This isn't a passage, it is a hole! Who is going to test it?" The three wardens looked at him and he wished he hadn't said anything. Sighing he made sure all his things were secure. He turned to Kallian before he jumped.

"If I die I'm going to haunt you for- AHHH!" Before he finished Kallian shoved him into the hole, making Aeden and Alistair snicker. Zevran's voice filtered up from the hole, echoing a bit.

"I hate you so much right now." Kallian burst out laughing.

"Just tell us how far it is!" They heard him sigh.

"Twenty, maybe thirty feet. Enough to hurt at the bottom." Kallian grinned and made sure her things were secure.

"Alright, I'm coming down." Kallian jumped down the hole, and landed on something squishy.

"It didn't hurt that bad!" A groan made her realize why.

"That is because you landed on me. Not that I mind having beautiful women on top, but would you kindly get off?" Giggling she stood, pulling him with her. She heard Aeden and Alistair laughing up top.

"Come on down you two! We moved out of the way." The laughter quieted and some shuffling was heard before someone landed in the hole.

"Ow, Kal you are so lucky you landed on Zevran." Ah, it was Aeden.

"Al! Before you drop down send us a torch, its to dark to see." more scuffling was heard, and a lit torch plummeted down the hole. Aeden picked it up and gave it to Kallian.

"Ok, come on down Al." Alistair dropped into their line of vision, landing in a heap on the ground. Kallian grinned at him.

"Come on Alistair, stop laying around! We have a castle of evil to storm!" She took off down the tunnel, leaving the others to follow. The tunnel wasn't very long, and soon they came to a door. Kallian carefully pushed it open, sticking her head out. She quickly pulled her head back in. Looking at the three men with he she frowned.

"Guess what, our friends are back. More walking corpses." Zevran groaned, something echoed by the other two. The group pulled out their weapons, and Kallian opened the door for them. The group launched themselves at the three ugly zombies, and killed them. That was when they heard the whiniest voice ever.

"You... You saved me!"

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><p>AN: Poor Alistair, having to watch Bann Teagan flirt with Kallian. Looks like the party with dead things and swords isn't over! PLEASE REVIEW!


	12. Chapter 12

Hi, sorry it took me so long to update! Disclaimer: I own nothing

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><p>"Kallian was it really necessary to hack his head off like that? I mean, we could have used him later." Aeden hissed in Kallian's ear as they crept down the hall.<p>

"I'm sorry, it was a reflex! I've gotten used to being allowed to hack apart things I'm mad at." Aeden glared at her. While going through the dungeons they had come across the mage that Isolde had mentioned, and after questioning him Kallian was angry, and chopped his head off. They were currently creeping up a passage toward the courtyard, having cleared the dungeon of the hideous walking dead. They reached a door at the end of the tunnel and carefully Alistair, who was leading the group right now, poke his head out. With a sigh he pulled his head back in.

"It looks like more dead things, and a revenant." Aeden and Zevran sighed, but Kallian was confused.

"What's a revenant?" Alistair sighed and looked at her

"A revenant is a corpse possessed by a demon of pride or desire." Kallian's eyes went wide.

"So your saying that whatever is in control of the castle decided it wasn't enough just to reanimate the dead, now we're dealing with demons?" Alistair nodded and Kallian glared.

"I sure hope you're wrong chantry boy, because if I die via demon I'm coming back and haunting your ass, Templar." Aeden and Zevran snickered, and Alistair smiled weakly. Kallian shoved past him, and poked her head out. Next to her Alistair was freaking out a bit. It was a pretty narrow passage, not meant to be to people wide, so Kallian was pressed close to him. She was oblivious to his discomfort, however, and was checking out the courtyard.

"Alright, there are archers on the wall. You three run out and gather up the ones on the ground, I'll get the archers." She moved back into the tunnel and started handing out potions, just in case one of them got hurt. Alistair moved to the door, and charged out, getting the attention of everything in the courtyard. He could hear Aeden and Zevran right behind him; Kallian at the door shooting at the archers. He charged at the revenant but before he could get there he felt a pull, and right in front of it. Kallian's scream was enough to indicate that she had been pulled too. He looked around and saw his companions standing there confused. The revenant took a swing at Kallian and she was force to duck. Alistair grabbed its attention, slamming into it with his shield, and gave her time to run off and pick off the archers. As she was running back she hollered to him.

"Why in the name of Andraste's holy undergarments did you NOT WARN ME about that Alistair?" She screamed at him, rapidly firing at the undead on the wall.

"Sorry, slipped my mind," he said, dodging a blow from the revenant. Aeden and Zevran were picking off the undead around him.

"Next time something slips your mind, please make sure it's not something that will get me scalped."

Aeden laughed as he and Zevran chopped the last of the undead soldiers. Kallian ran over to the revenant, having shot all the archers down. They all attacked the thing with vigor, but quickly they started to wear down. Aeden dodged another blow, and looked at Kallian.

"You know, if you were ever going to chop off something's head, now would be a good time." She shook her head.

"It's eight feet tall! Can't reach it, too short," she panted out, ducking another swipe and stabbing its leg, doing no damage. They knew what she meant; none of them could reach the head either. Aeden moved over and pulled her back.

"Kallian, what if I sort of tossed you toward it? Could you get its head off?" She wiped sweat out of her eye.

"If I don't get thrown or stabbed by its giant sword? Yes." He nodded, and they moved a bit closer. He knelt on the ground and put a hand under her foot.

"Zevran! Get over here and help me!" Aeden shouted. Zevran glanced over, and backed away from the fight. Alistair noticed he was now fighting the revenant on his own.

"A little help would be nice." They had been outlining what they were going to do to Zevran, and Kallian got irritated.

"We're working on it! When I say duck, do it and don't hesitate!" Zevran knelt down as well, preparing to toss Kallian. They grabbed her around her knees, and lifted.

"Alistair duck!" They tossed the small elf, and she flew toward the revenant. She slammed into it, and landed on its shoulder. Without hesitation she chopped its head off, sending it and herself to the ground. She landed with a thump, and the men raced over to her. She laid there with a dazed look on her face. Leaning over her they frowned.

"Kal, are you ok?" Aeden asked, waving his hand in front of her face. Slowly her eyes focused on him and she grinned.

"That was so awesome." Aeden grinned, and pulled her up.

"I want to kill eight foot stuff all the time, just so you can throw me like that. It was worth a few bruises." They all laughed, and Alistair went to open the gate. Ser Perth came in with the other knights. They looked at Kallian wide eyed when they entered the courtyard.

"You just threw her at a revenant," the knight said like he couldn't believe it. Aeden chuckled at his awe.

"We're warden's we'll do whatever we have to in order to kill something," he said with a smile.

"I never thought I would see two people throw someone through the air so they could chop off a head," Ser Perth said, shaking his head. The group just laughed, and moved toward the stairs. Alistair carefully opened the door and looked inside. Deciding it was safe he waved them all forward, and they entered the main hall, they walked forward, hearing the voices of Teagan and Isolde, and walked into the main room. What they saw horrified them. Bann Teagan was currently doing acrobatics in the middle of the room and generally acting a fool, Isolde was standing dejectedly on the dais; next to her was a child who was the creepiest looked thing Kallian had ever seen. Looking around Kallian noted five guards, which their group could easily handle. Bann Teagan stopped his dancing and Aeden strode forward, Kallian, Alistair; Zevran and Ser Perth all looking like bodyguards. The creepy looking child looked up at them.

"So these are our guests, the ones you told me about mother!"

"Yes Connor." Kallian was furious, and upon seeing this Alistair grabbed her arm so she didn't do anything stupid. Isolde sold them out! Kallian ground her teeth and Aeden shot her a look that clearly said that she wasn't to speak. Connor, the one that they were supposedly going to save, started talking again.

"And these are the ones that defeated my soldiers, the ones I sent to reclaim my village?"

"Yes."

"And now they are staring at me, what are they mother? I can't see them well enough." Isolde looked like she was going to cry.

"That is a man Connor, and an elf. You have seen elves before. We have them here at the castle."

"Oh I remember! I had their ears cut off and fed them to the dogs, the dogs chewed for hours! Should I send it to the kennels mother?"

"Connor I beg you, don't hurt anyone!" Isolde cried, looking at the elves in the room. Kallian, who had been struggling against Alistair's hold, froze. Her eyes went wide when she heard what had happened to the elves. How could he? Zevran grabbed her from Alistair and held her tight, whispering in her ear.

"Do not do anything rash, my dear, he is goading us." She turned to him and frowned. He was right; he was trying to force them to attack. Zevran grinned as he felt he relax.

"I am going to release you, don't be stupid." She nodded as he let go. Connor and Isolde had obviously been talking, though Kallian and Zevran missed it, and Isolde now addressed them.

"Grey Wardens, please, do not hurt my son. He is not responsible for what he does!" Kallian looked at Alistair, who was concentrating very hard. She leaned over to him.

"What is it, Al?" He frowned, and what he said made her blood run cold. One words, can change everything.

"Demon." Aeden heard them but made no comment, instead he turned to Connor.

"What did you do to Bann Teagan?" The Bann, who had been sitting quietly, finally spoke.

"Here I am! Here am I!" His voice was nothing like it was before. It was a jester's tone he used. Connor laughed and clapped his hands.

"I like him better this way! No more yelling: now he amuses me!" Aeden was horrified, and Isolde saw this.

"Connor didn't mean to do this! It was the mage, the one that poisoned Eamon- He started all this! He summoned the demon! Connor was just trying to help his father!" Aeden gave Kallian an 'I told you so' look when the mage came up again. She shrugged and he turned back to Connor, who was speaking

"It was a fair deal! Father is alive, just as I wanted, and now it is my turn to sit on the throne and send armies to conquer the world! No one tells me what to do anymore!" Bann Teagan chimed in next to Connor.

"Nobody tells him what to do! NOOOOBODY!"

"Quiet, uncle! I told you what would happen if you kept shouting didn't I? Yes, I did. But let's keep things civil. These people will have the audience they seek. Tell us- What did you come here for?" Aeden was the one who spoke.

"We came here to help, if we could."

"To help me? To help father? To help yourself? Which is it?"

"To help the Arl, of course." Aeden said carefully.

"So you're a concerned well-wisher? Why didn't you say that in the first place? All this sneaking around and killing is so unnecessary!" The demon said, glaring. "But father is so very ill! We really shouldn't disturb him, should we mother?" Isolde looked like she was at a loss.

"I… I don't think..."

"Of course you don't! Ever since you sent the knights away you've done nothing but deprive me of my fun. And frankly, it's getting a bit dull. I crave excitement! And action! These people spoiled my sport by saving that stupid village, and now they will repay me!" The demon ran out of the room, and the wardens froze, and realized Teagan was going to lead the fight against them. Isolde ran to a corner. The wardens and Ser Perth and the knights, fanned out. A few more possessed guards ran in from another room, and the fight began. Most of the guards went to Aeden, Alistair; and Ser Perth. But Bann Teagan made a beeline for Kallian. The poor elf was forced to duck and dodge his constant attacks. While dodging, she hoped that maybe she could talk him out of his haze.

"Bann Teagan! It's me, Kallian!" She ducked another blow. "You remember? I helped save Redcliffe? I nailed up the windows?" Nothing was working. Finally she gave up and started dancing around him.

"Look, Bann Teagan I am very sorry for this!" She took the pommel of one of her knives and bashed him over the head with it, knocking him out, before she moved on to one of the guards, helping Zevran bring it down. The fight wore down around them and Isolde rushed out of the corner and bent over Bann Teagan.

"Teagan! Teagan are you alright?" He visibly shook and looked around as the wardens gathered around him. Isolde helped him up, and she was near tears.

"Blessed Andraste, I would have never forgiven myself if something happened to you. Not after I brought you here. What a fool I am." Alistair stomped on Kallian's foot to prevent her commenting and she tried not to curse, instead settling on glaring at him. Isolde turned to the wardens, and held her hands out as if to plead with them.

"Please, Connor is not responsible for this! There must be a way to save him!" Aeden turned to Alistair and frowned, pulling the man who was going to be a Templar to the side of the room. They held a rushed whispered conversation, which Kallian included herself in.

"Alistair, if this was the circle what would you do, I don't know how to handle this." Alistair hesitated and Aeden frowned, knowing what was coming.

"We... We would kill the child. But I think… No, to risky, and it would take a lot of time." Aeden grabbed Alistair's shoulders.

"Anything you have, we need to know. I can't kill the child, he is still in there. He came through for a moment, I can't do it." Alistair nodded, and turned Kallian and Aeden further away from the group.

"There is one way I've heard of. A mage can enter the fade, if there are enough mage's… Well that and a lot of lyrium." Kallian sighed.

"Alistair we don't have either of those. So how are we supposed to make that work?" Alistair glared at her.

"The mage circle isn't far, and Aeden might be able to persuade them."

"What am I? Chicken liver? I can persuade just as well as he can." Alistair nodded but gestured over to the nobles.

"Someone should stay and protect them, and Teagan seems to trust you. Aeden will be best with the mages because he's a lord, and they'll know that." Kallian sighed, and nodded. She glanced over at the nobles, before replying.

"Could you at least send me Dane so I have someone to talk to?" They smirked and nodded. The three walked back to the nobles, and Zevran, who had waited patiently, and spoke.

"We might have... a solution," Aeden began slowly. "We are going to go to the circle tower; they might be able to help with this little dilemma." Bann Teagan frowned at them.

"The circle tower will take quite a bit of time, what about the castle? Will we be safe?" Aeden looked at Kallian who rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Kallian has agreed to stay behind and help protect the castle; you should expect another of our companions in a couple days." Kallian snorted, Aeden spoke like Dane was a normal companion, and not a dog. Bann Teagan nodded and Isolde did nothing.

"Then make haste, and Maker guide your path." The Bann said, and they turned to leave. Kallian walked them to the door, and they spoke quietly.

"Alright Kal, we'll tell Dane to rush here. Hopefully he can make that run in two days. Protect Teagan at all costs, because if something happens to Eamon then Teagan will become Arl." Kallian nodded, taking in this information. Aeden put a hand on her shoulder, and gave her a quick smile before dashing out the door. Zevran, ever the dramatic one, dropped to her feet.

"I will miss you my dear, take no lovers in my absence, I beg you." Kallian gave a soft laugh, and kicked him lightly.

"Go on, you idiot. Protect Aeden like you protect me, you're still under oath." Zevran grinned and ran after Aeden, leaving only Kallian and Alistair. He stood there awkwardly for a moment and she raised an eyebrow. He rubbed the back of his neck, before speaking.

"Well, take care Kallian. Be safe." He ran after the other two, bright red, and Kallian shook her head. Poor chantry boy. Sighing she walked in where the nobles were, but Ser Perth stepped into her path before she could get all the way in the room.

"My lady, my knights and I will follow your command for now, as directed by Bann Teagan and Lady Isolde." Kallian raised an eyebrow and looked at Teagan who just smiled back at her. Looking back up at Perth she laughed.

"Well, I have to say, that was unexpected. But thank you, I will try and lead you well." He nodded and moved aside. Kallian walked to a corner of the room and dropped her heavy pack on the floor. She sighed gratefully as hit landed with a soft thump, and rolled her shoulders. A voice next to her made her jump.

"How long have you been hefting that pack around my lady?" Bann Teagan asked as the elf rubbed her sore muscles. She stopped and thought for a moment.

"I don't know, what time is it?"

"Almost nightfall." She froze, and turned to him.

"You have got to be kidding me. Nightfall already?" He nodded and she frowned. "I have been hefting that pack for two days, and it has been about that long since I slept last." Teagan frowned at her, and motioned to the floor, where her bedroll was.

"Why don't you rest, Ser Perth or I will wake you if you are needed." Kallian shook her head.

"I can't, and may I remind you that no one else has slept either? No, there is no sleep for us tonight." She walked away, and went to Ser Perth. Stopping in front of him she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Alright, it's almost nightfall, and I don't know what that demon is up to upstairs. Send two of your knights to the village to defend it just in case of another attack tonight. The rest of you should guard the three entrances to this room. However, you are coming with me for now. We need a couple things." She waited for him to give the orders, and when he returned she motioned for him to follow her. They walked out the front door, down the steps and across the courtyard before he got curious enough to ask questions.

"Where are we going my lady?" She grinned at him and kept walking. She came to the door for the tunnel, and before going in, she grabbed a torch.

"I hope you aren't afraid of the dark Ser Perth." He shook his head and she grinned again, opening the door and going in. He followed her in, and like Aeden and Alistair had, he smacked his head on the ceiling. She laughed and looked back at him.

"Oh yeah, duck." He glared and rubbed his forehead.

"Thank you for the warning."

"Hey, don't blame me for you humans being freakishly tall." This made him laugh, and he just motioned for her to go forward. Still chuckling she set off down the narrow passage they had come up through earlier. She was quiet for a moment before she decided to warn him.

"Be on your guard, it was pretty bad down here earlier. We should have gotten everything but just in case…"

"Do not worry; I do not intend to let my guard down my lady." She stopped suddenly and made him run into her.

"Don't call me my lady. It's Kallian." He nodded even though she was looking the other direction.

"Of course, my apologies." She started off again and they were silent the rest of the way. When they got to the end of the tunnel Kallian hopped down, and Ser Perth saw where they were.

"Ah, servants area. Aren't we under...?"

"The larder? Yes. We, good sir, are getting food for everyone. The larder had been locked up tight, and the food inside was still good." Kallian smiled and set toward the stairs across the room. Halfway there she froze, and pulled out her daggers. Something caught Perth's eye in the corner of the room but before he even had a chance to move Kallian had pounced. She ran over and hacked the undead things head off, an angry snarl on her face.

"Curse you, damn walking corpse!" she said giving the head a kick like it was a leather ball. Tucking her blades away she continued walking like nothing had happened and they were out for a stroll. Ser Perth just stood there staring at her. When she was at the foot of the stairs leading to the larder she realized he wasn't following and stopped.

"Well, are you coming or are you just going to stand there all day?" He shook his head and hurried to follow her.

"I'm sorry; it just surprises me how calm you are after almost being ambushed by a corpse." Kallian sighed and pushed the door to the larder open. She ushered him inside before entering herself and closing the door.

"Ser Perth, the last couple of weeks has been nothing but killing. Darkspawn, undead, bandits, demons… It doesn't seem to matter anymore." She pulled a bag of potatoes off the wall and dumped them on the floor, before filling the bag with several loaves of bread, and setting it down once it was full. Seeing what she was doing he imitated her actions, filling a bag that once had onions in it, with dried meats.

"Why would you choose such a life? You are very pretty, I am sure it wasn't hard to find someone to marry you." As soon as he said that he regretted the words, as her face grew dark.

"I didn't choose it." Was all she said before moving on the a couple wheels of cheese, cutting them up with a knife on the shelf, and stuffing the pieces in a bag. Motioning for him to stop, she moved toward the other door.

"Alright, this is the tricky part. We need bedrolls, but there might be uglies outside this door. I saw bedrolls in a closet not far from here. We grab the key to the larder, lock it, and run for the closet." He nodded, and grabbed the key. She grasped the handle, he unlocked it, and they rushed out. Once he had it locked again she ran down the hall and opened a closet door, once he was in she slammed it behind her. It was dark in the closet, and Kallian had obviously forgetten that.

"Shit. I left my torch in the larder!"

"Don't worry; let's just feel around for the bedrolls." He turned and started sorting through boxes. After a moment he heard her triumphant cry.

"I found them! Here, take a couple." He held out his arms and she waved the bedrolls around, looking for them.

"Ow! That was my face!"

"Well SOOORRY. I can't see." She settled the bedrolls into his arms, and moved to the door once again after grabbing a couple herself.

"Alright, are you ready for another mad dash?"

"Yes, open the door; I have the key in hand." She opened the door and light filtered in. The ran back down the hallway and stopped at the larder door. As he fumbled with the key he heard Kallian gasp.

"Perth, hurry. There are about a dozen of them up ahead." She whispered. He fumbled with the lock another second before he got it. They rushed in and slammed the door shut, locking it again. They were snatching up the bags when they heard the banging on the larder door. Kallian looked up at the knight.

"Run." She grabbed the last of the bags, and dashed out the door and down the stairs, not even bothering with the torch. They ran down the stairs, across the room, and somehow scrambled into the passageway carrying several bags of food and three bedrolls each. The practically ran through the passageway, and into the courtyard, slamming the door shut. They rushed up the stairs and into the door for the main hall where they almost slammed the door shut and put their backs against it. As soon as they realized they were safe, and that one of Ser Perth's knights was staring at them strangely for their dramatic entrance, they burst out laughing. Shaking their heads they walked into the main hall with their spoils. Bann Teagan walked over to them and stared at the bedrolls and bags.

"You ran all the way to the servant's quarters for bedrolls?" Kallian chuckled at him.

"Look in the bags." He gave them a strange look and bent over. He opened one of the bags and his eyes went wide. He looked at Kallian and gave her a huge smile.

"This is an extremely welcome sight." He stood and grinned at Ser Perth.

"Go and tell the men that Lady Kallian has provided us enough food to last us until we can get down to the village." Ser Perth grinned and went off to do as his lord said. Teagan turned to Kallian and gave her a tired smile.

"Thank you, I cannot tell you what this means to me, to us. Isolde! Come and see what Lady Kallian has brought." The Arl's wife came over, and looked at the bags in displeasure.

"Hmph, traveler's food." She said, turning her nose up at it. Teagan grabbed her arm and pulled her aside, but Kallian could still hear what was said.

"You are too spoiled Isolde. After all this, which may I remind you is largely your fault- Don't argue! - You still turn your nose up at food that people risked their lives to get? It is all we have while we hold this room." He released her arm and marched back to Kallian who was handing rations out to the knights. He gave her a smile which she returned. No wonder Aeden had spoken highly of Bann Teagan; he was a true noble man. Most would have been like Lady Isolde and turned their nose up at the food, but he was honestly grateful for it, and realized that it was all they had. When the knights had been fed they took their food and sat down on the steps of the dais. They ate in silence for a while before either of them spoke.

"I wanted to apologize for what happened in the chantry Lady Kallian-"She cut him off before he could finish.

"Don't worry, I overreacted. And by the way, it's Kallian. Not Lady, just Kallian." She stared at the ground, her face blank. He watched her for a moment before lowering his gaze.

"So you are from Denerim?" He asked her, trying to make conversation and get them through this dreadful night. She nodded and frowned at the floor.

"I was, but I won't be going back."

"Why not? Surely you have family there?"

"I do, but I won't be going back unless archdemon himself marches on the city."

"Archdemon?"

"An old god in a giant dragon that leads the Darkspawn, to make a long story short. " Bann Teagan looked at her in horror, surely she was joking. She looked up at him and upon seeing his reaction nearly laughed.

"That was the reaction I had too. Except, you know, I wasn't told. I got to see it when I passed out once. Ugly creature. I can't wait until I get to make armor out of it." A cough behind them made them turn, and Lady Isolde stood there.

"Lady Kallian, I thank you for bringing us food. I am sorry I was rude earlier. I will rest now. Goodnight Teagan, Lady Kallian." She turned and grabbed a bedroll before going and lying down near the fire they had kept going. Kallian wrinkled her nose at Isolde's figure and Bann Teagan laughed.

"You do not like Isolde?" Kallian frowned and turned to him.

"She seems spoiled. This all happened because she hid her son. I know she loves him but it has all but wiped out the castle and it devastated and entire village. She is sitting in here waiting just like the rest of us, hoping the demon upstairs that is inside her son doesn't strike, and she turns her nose up at food because it wasn't fine enough?" Kallian suddenly realized that she was talking to the lady in questions brother in law. "Oh maker I am so sorry, I know you are family and I-"Teagan held up a hand to stop her.

"Don't worry, I agree. I love Connor too, but he should have been sent to the circle. Instead her fear of losing him cost the lives of many loyal people. I love my family, but I also love this land, and the people in it." Kallian smiled at him.

"You are the first true nobleman I have ever met Bann Teagan," Kallian said. She stood, and dusted off her leather armor. "I think it's time one of those knights got some sleep."  
>She went off to relieve one of the men, and Teagan smiled at her. She hadn't slept in two days, and yet she was more concerned about the knights getting sleep than herself. He gave the door that she had just gone through one last smile, and grabbed a bedroll for himself. He went to a different corner than Isolde, and lay down. The last thing to cross his mind before he fell asleep was how lucky they were that the wardens had stumbled their way.<p>

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><p>Aeden, Alistair and Zevran ran as hard as they could; given the amount of armor and gear they were wearing. It was late into the night before they stopped to rest for a bit. They reached a clearing near the road, and they all dropped down to catch their breath. Aeden turned to the others two.<p>

"I say we stop for about six hours. Two watches, I'll take the first one, you two get some sleep. I'll flip a coin over who gets next watch." The other two exhausted runners nodded, and pulled out there bedrolls, not even bothering to take off their armor. Aeden sat down and fought to keep his eyes open. They were making excellent time. They had passed this on the end of the second day after they originally separated from Leliana, Sten, Morrigan and Dane. It had taken a full three days to get to Redcliffe, so they probably would reach the others late tomorrow or early the next day. He sat and listened to the others snore, and thought about how Kallian was faring at the castle, hoping that demon Connor hadn't struck, and that Kallian hadn't killed Lady Isolde. Ugh, Lady Isolde. Aeden wrinkled his nose at the thought of her. He was glad she didn't seem to remember him. The last time he had seen her he and Teagan had been returning from the gnawed noble tavern, dragging an unconscious Fergus and they had been singing bawdy drinking songs. He smiled at the vague memory. The night wore on, and eventually he decided to rouse Alistair for watch, not fully trusting Zevran. Alistair rose, and told Aeden to just sleep in his bedroll as it was already out. Aeden lay down gratefully, and the second his head was resting on his pack, he was asleep.  
>It seemed like seconds later that Alistair was shaking him awake, but the sun was coming up, so he knew it had been the three hours he had asked for. With a sigh he got out of Alistair's bedroll and let the already awake man roll it up. He and Zevran shook sleep out of their eyes and heads, and after wolfing down some bread and dried meat quickly they took off at a run again. The three ran all day, eager to get back to the others. They only stopped once in a while to catch their breath and get some water before they took off again. Night started to fall, and eventually they saw a fire off in the woods near the road. They dashed in, and collided with Sten. Aeden fell to the ground, and Zevran and Alistair landed on top of him.<p>

"Hi Sten," Aeden panted out. The Qunari grunted but let them into the camp. Running in they started taking apart tents.

"Alright everyone! We're running to the circle… Tonight! We have to get there as soon as possible." Aeden said as he rolled up his canvas tent they had left up for their return. Leliana came over to help him with the tent and looked worried.

"Aeden, where is Kallian? Why isn't she with you?" Aeden sighed, shoving the tent into his pack.

"She's fine for now, but won't be if we don't hurry. Get your tent down, Leli; I need to talk to Dane." She nodded and went to do as he said; making no comment to him as if talking to a dog was common place. Which, in their camp, it was. Aeden strode over to the hound and knelt down.

"Dane, you have an important job. You remember how to get to Redcliffe?" One woof. Good, the dog remembered. "I am going to strap Kallian's tent to your back, and you have to get there as fast as possible, you need to protect Kallian. And Teagan, you remember Teagan?" One woof again. Aeden pat the dog on the head and turned to get Kallian's tent but Alistair was already holding out then bundle with a couple leather straps. Aeden thanked the warrior and turned to Dane who looked ready to be off. After the tent was strapped to the dog Aeden gave the hound a hug.

"Be safe boy, and get to Kallian as fast as you can." Dane woofed one more time, licked Aeden's face, and raced off to find his favorite elf. Aeden watched him run as long as he could, and turned to Alistair.

"Come on, we should help finish up with camp." The warrior nodded and they turned back to camp to prepare to leave again.

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><p>AN- well, not as long as I was hoping for, but good enough. Sorry it took me so damn long to update. Between work and my sister's wedding… well, its been hell in my home.<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

Holy cow! I am so sorry it's been such a terribly long time since I updated. I'll try and update more often, we shall see how well that works out, yes?

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><p>No you don't know what it's like<br>When nothing feels alright  
>You don't know what it's like, to be like me<p>

To be hurt, to feel lost, to be left out in the dark  
>To be kicked, when you're down<br>To feel like you've been pushed around

To be on the edge of breaking down  
>When no one's there to save you<br>No you don't know what it's like  
>Welcome to my life<br>**Simple Plan – Welcome to my life**

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><p>Kallian sat on the wall outside the castle, watching for Dane. It had been several days since her companions had left, and she was about to lose her mind. Lady Isolde was the reason for her frustration, the woman was a nightmare. Yes, she may have apologized about the whole mess about the food, but not about anything else. Currently the insufferable Orlesian woman was inside talking about how the only thing elves were useful for was servants and cooks. This was said in front of Kallian, who snapped at the woman before walking outside and barking orders at the knights out there, sending them away from her. The young elven rogue was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't hear anyone come up behind her.<p>

"Don't listen to Isolde, she is a spoiled fool." Kallian turned to see Bann Teagan behind her. She sighed, and nodded.

"I know that, but you have to remember, I grew up in an alienage. My mother was a maid, my father was a manservant. My cousins were servants, and so were most of the others. I was supposed to be a maid in some nobleman's house, but that all changed when-"She seemed to think she had said too much, and stopped, pursing her lips. Teagan was curious, but decided not to press the elf, having already been on the bad side of her blade once. They stood in silence for a moment, staring off into the horizon. A few minutes passed, and Teagan saw a small figure running towards the castle. Apparently Kallian saw it too, because she grabbed her bow and knocked an arrow. She watched it run up the path, but soon lowered her weapon, letting out a shout and scrambling down the ladder, off the wall, and running down the path. Teagan watched from the wall and saw that the figure was a mabari. Kallian raced towards the dog, and when they were about five feet from each other the hound leapt and knocked Kallian to the ground, licking her face. Teagan watched as the mabari let her up and she hugged the animal. She turned and motioned the dog to follow her. As the hound got closer Teagan realized he had seen this animal before. Teagan scrambled down and met Kallian and Dane, bending to scratch the dog's ears.

"Dane! What a wonderful surprise!" Looking up at Kallian he smiled, "I assume this was the companion we were waiting for?" She nodded and smiled at the mabari.

"Indeed, Aeden thought it would be nice for me to have some company I am familiarized with." Teagan smiled at the dog that was wagging his stubby tail at them. Kallian looked at the dog as well and realized what was strapped onto his back.

"Oh Dane have you run all this way with my tent?" The dog barked an affirmative and Kallian rolled her eyes, bending to take the tent off his back. Teagan watched, curious.

"Why did you not bring your tent with you? Obviously you came from far away, how did you camp?" Kallian stood and faced him, the tent clutched to her chest.

"We left our tents at the main camp because we couldn't carry them AND the rest of our gear while wearing our armor. You forget, we have to carry everything we own now, we're outlaws," she said, a bitter note to her voice. Teagan frowned, and shook his head. He had forgotten that fact. Kallian sighed and turned back to the castle.

"We should get back inside," she said glumly before trekking back up the road, Dane on her heels. Teagan watched her for a moment before following. The Warden, Teagan had noticed, had a habit of being very negative about their life on the road. She rarely talked about her life in Denerim, and when she did she said very little. This warden was a mystery, and Teagan was determined to solve it.

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><p>Aeden wiped sweat off his brow for what seemed like the millionth time. They had been running for days now, and he was worn out. Looking to his left he saw Alistair and Leliana both struggling for breath, and decided to call it a day. It was late, and they were all exhausted. He sucked in the small amount of air his lungs would allow, and bellowed for them to stop. They all slowed to a halt, and bent over trying to breath. Even Sten looked close to falling over. Aiden shook his head.<p>

"Look, we're about a day away from the tower. Let's all get some real sleep tonight, we need it." Everyone cracked a smile despite the exhaustion at that idea. The group made their way to a clearing not far off, and made camp for the first time in days.  
>A while later Aeden was sitting in front of the small cooking fire they had made when he heard someone sit down next to him. Looking over he saw Leliana watching him.<p>

"You know, you never did tell me where Kallian is," she said, a frown gracing her features. Aeden sighed and prodded the fire with a stick.

"She is currently in Redcliffe protecting Bann Teagan from a demon," he continued on, telling Leliana about everything that had happened in Redcliffe. When he finished his tale Leliana let out a low whistle.

"Poor Kallian, at least she will have Dane. Do you think they are alright?" Aeden shrugged and looked down.

"I hope so. I couldn't stand losing either one of them." Leliana smiled and put her small hand on top of his. He looked up at her and saw her smiling softly at him.

"Do not worry so much. Dane and Kallian will look out for one another, as we will each other." Aeden found himself smiling back at the former chantry sister despite himself. Maybe things really would be ok.

Kallian ducked a blow from an undead creature and knocked it down for Dane to finish off. Right after she and Teagan had gone inside the castle it seemed as if the demon possessing Connor had been complacent long enough and had sent some more soldiers after them. Dane and Kallian were holding a door by themselves, while it took for knights to guard each of the other two. Kallian, however, was wearing out. Four hours of fighting, waves and waves of smelly bodies.  
>She was exhausted. Chopping the head off of one more body she finally realized her hall was clear and the sound of battle had died down behind her. Leaning against a wall for support she slowly turned.<p>

"Is everyone alright?" She asked, looking at all the knights, who were covered in blood and grime. Perth nodded and sat down.

"No one is injured, just exhausted. If you hadn't held that door we would all be dead." The elf just sighed and slid down the wall. Bann Teagan came and knelt next to her, handing her a water skin. He had been forced back into the room with Isolde, being told he wasn't allowed to fight by Kallian.

"You should have let me fight," he said, giving her a reproving look. She shook her head as she quickly drank the water.

"No, we have to keep you safe. That it was I was ordered to do, and that is what I will do." Teagan laughed and she raised an eyebrow.

"You don't seem like one to follow orders all the time." Kallian sighed and took another swig of water before answering.

"I never used to be, but following orders is the reason I'm alive today, so I figure every order has its reason. At least the good orders," she said looking downcast. Teagan knew he probably shouldn't pry, but he couldn't help himself.

"What do you mean by order's are why you are alive?" Kallian frowned and seemed to get lost in a memory.

"What have you heard about Ostagar, Teagan?" She asked, still deep in thought.

"Very little, only the pieces Loghain told us."

"I thought as much. I was a new recruit; I joined the Grey Wardens on the day of the Battle of Ostagar. I had thought I was to join the battle. But the king decided that Aeden, Alistair and I would be sent to the Tower of Ishal to light a beacon, signaling Loghain to charge. If we hadn't been sent to that tower, we would all be dead. There would be no more wardens in Ferelden, Redcliffe would be destroyed, and Loghain would be unopposed." Teagan frowned and nodded. This was the first he had heard of their involvement in the Battle at Ostagar.  
>The small elf sighed, and moved to stand, using Dane as a brace. Teagan moved to help her but she waved him off like she always did. She ran a hand through her hair and looked around. She walked over to Ser Perth and pulled him and Teagan to the side of the room.<p>

"Listen, we need to know what's going on upstairs." Teagan looked like he was going to argue but she held up a hand to silence him. "We do, and that's a fact. That demon has been quiet for almost a week and it all the sudden attacks? Not normal. I am going to sneak upstairs, but I'm not using the hall." She moved away from them to give orders to the other knights.  
>Perth and Teagan looked at each other, slightly worried. What did she have in mind? When orders were given she walked over to the door leading outside and turned to them men, giving them a wink.<p>

"Wish me luck; I'll be back as soon as I know what's happening." She disappeared outside and the men settled down to wait. About fifteen minutes later a scream broke the silence they had been keeping.  
>They jumped up and ran outside, immediately they were greeted with the sound of mad cackling and of a frightened Kallian.<p>

"Look up! Look up! Teagan, Perth, UP!" they did as Kallian said and saw her dangling from a windowsill on the second floor. They rushed over and Teagan moved directly under her.

"Kallian, do you trust me?"

"NO!" That was obviously not the answer he was hoping for but he continued.

"You're going to have to for now. Drop down, and I'll catch you." He heard her groan in frustration.

"On the count of three, Kallian, drop down," Perth said in a calm voice. "One, two… Three!" The warden let go with a little scream and hurtled straight down into Teagan's waiting arms.  
>She had her eyes tightly shut and the two men had the urge to laugh.<p>

"You can open your eyes now Kallian," Teagan said, hiding the mirth in his voice. The elf opened her eyes and saw that he had in fact caught her. She let out a squeak and tumbled out of his arms.  
>They looked at her, worried, and bent down next to her. Perth handed her the daggers which he had found on the ground where she had been dangling.<p>

"Kallian, what happened? How did you end up dangling from a window?" The knight asked, now examining the window in question. It was now closed, and locked. Inside was completely dark.  
>The rogue gathered herself up and stood, sheathing her knives.<p>

"Well I climbed up, and made it inside via a different window. I was sneaking down the hall when I heard a noise behind me. I turned and there was Connor. The demon told me I shouldn't be alone, that you never know what might happen. Next thing I know it's lunging at me and hanging me out the window. I screamed and the demon just laughed. That was when you ran outside." She shook herself one more time and walked inside, letting the men follow her. They went back inside the hall and saw Isolde sitting in the corner looking annoyed. Kallian figured it must have been because she was still alive. Stupid Orlesian woman. Settling down Kallian started to clean the grime that had accumulated off. And now they were back to waiting. Wonderful.

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><p>Aeden stood stretching his sore muscles. They had reached the tower, and found Chaos, Demons and Blood mages running rampant. They had told the Templars they would clean out the tower as they needed the mages help and they were currently locked inside, but they hadn't realized things would be this bad. He, Alistair and Zevran were now working with a mage healer named Wynne to clear things out. They had cleared almost four floors of the tower before they ran into the sloth demon, which had made them fall asleep and had trapped them inside nightmares in the fade. They fought their way out, and had continued on immediately, clearing the rest of the tower up until the stairs of the harrowing chamber. They found an imprisoned Templar there, and he told them that this was all the mage Uldred's doing. They had run up, and found Uldred making abominations.<br>In the end, they fought him, and killed him. That was what Aeden was recovering from currently. Uldred had thrown him across the harrowing chamber after Aeden had gotten in a near fatal blow. Zevran ultimately was the one to finish Uldred off. Shaking himself and ignoring the protest his body gave Aeden helped Alistair up and walked over to the Senior Enchanter Irving. The old man stood, and had a small side wound, but was otherwise fine.  
>The rest of the mages filed out, and like Irving, seemed to be just fine. The now rather large group made their way, slowly, down to the main entrance where the Templars were. When they reached the door it was closed, and locked. Aeden growled and banged on it.<p>

"OI! Open up, it's Aeden Cousland! I have senior enchanter Irving and the rest of the mages, they're safe!" They heard the clicks as the locks were slid back and the doors flew open. Knight Commander Greagior stood in front of them, shocked. Eventually, with too much talking for anyone's taste it was decided that Wynne, the elderly mage who had help them clear the tower would come with them, and that the mages would take a boat across the lake and help the situation in Redcliffe. They also had a boat for the warden's and their group to take. Aeden trudged down to the docks with they're group while Alistair went to retrieve Leliana, Morrigan and Sten. When they finally arrived Leliana gave him a quick hug.

"Aeden! We were so worried about you!" Morrigan behind her scoffed, but said nothing. Zevran took this moment to latch himself onto Morrigan.

"Ah! My dear, it is good to see your gorgeous face once more. I am now a hero, striking the last blow. Shall we go and celebrate in a bit more, shall we say, private setting," he said earning a laugh from everyone but Morrigan and Wynne. The elderly mage looked horrified at not only what Zevran said, but the colorful response Morrigan was now giving him, which included threats along the lines of how he would get to see personally how his insides looked and the location of his head. Wynne turned to Leliana and Aeden, horror written on her face.

"Is this normal behavior?" She asked. Aeden shrugged and Leliana let out a small giggle.

"This is normal enough for Zevran and Morrigan. It gets more interesting when Kallian is here, she encourages it," Aeden said in a matter of fact tone. Wynne shook her head; obviously she didn't know what she was getting into when she offered to come with them.  
>Leliana and Aeden struck up a conversation about the chantry, and Wynne walked away, moving on to listen to the conversation Alistair had struck up with Zevran.<p>

"They are called tattoos, and I have them many more places than just my back, my friend." Zevran said, gesturing all over himself. Alistair got a bewildered look but continued on.

"Err… Right. I hear that someone gets those by having needles put the ink under your skin." When Alistair said this, sounding mildly disconcerted. Zevran got a wicked gleam in his eye.

"Indeed, a great many needles! Amongst other things. Yes, that would be true." Alistair's eyes widened and everyone watching had to hold back laughter. By now Zevran had managed to get the attention of the rest of the group, including Leliana and Aeden.

"Didn't it hurt?" Alistair just didn't know when to give up.

"Oooh yes! Yes. But it is not so bad, in truth. If you like I can give you one! I picked up a bit of the art in Antiva."

"Oh no! No, I don't think so," Alistair quickly back peddled, making Leliana giggle. Poor Alistair.

"Oh come, it will only be a small one! Perhaps the symbol of the Grey Wardens! Something manly. Where are my needles?" Alistair looked like he was about to go hide on the boat that had just come up for them before Aeden finally took pity on him.

"Alistair, he's goading you again, Like Kal always does. Don't listen to him; it's not really that bad." Leliana looked at him in interest, and he grinned at her.

"Oh so you have one of your own?" Leliana asked. Aeden pulled off his bracer and his glove and showed her his wrist where he had the Cousland crest tattooed. He smiled as she looked at it with interest before looking at him with curious eyes.

"What is this?" She asked. Aeden's smile left his face and he pulled his hand back, pulling on his glove and bracer.

"It was my family crest. They're all dead now." He grabbed his pack off the ground and marched onto the boat. Leliana watched as he settled himself down before getting on herself. She wasn't stupid; she knew that the crest, or more likely the family, was a sore spot. And she was now determined to figure out why.

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><p>It had been three days since that random attack, and everything had been silent in Redcliffe since.<br>Kallian stared at Isolde as the Orlesian woman complained once again about the conditions in which they were being forced to stay. Kallian wished nothing more than to slap the stupid noblewoman senseless, and she was about to.

"Oh how I wish I had my elven servants to sweep the floor so I am not lying on a layer of dirt," Isolde said glancing at Kallian, who finally decided enough was enough. Standing the little elf warden went and stood over Isolde.

"Well it's too bad your SON killed all of them isn't it?" Isolde paled, but rose to meet Kallian.

"How dare you speak to me that way I am-"

"You're an Arl's wife, I know." Kallian interrupted "But you still have risked the lives of your people, your husband and now your brother in law. Not to mention your son. You knew the risks in keeping him here, everyone does, and yet you still did it. Arl's wife or not, you have risked the lives of hundreds of people, and that is inexcusable." Isolde looked like she was going to burst into tears and looked around the room for help. When none was offered she looked back to Kallian.

"I was desperate; I didn't want to lose my son! But what would you know of loss?" Isolde spat. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them. Kallian's hand flew towards her face and at first Isolde thought Kallian would strike her, but she simply waved her hand around. On it was a simple silver band. A wedding band.

"You see that? I wear this every day as a reminder of what could have been! My mother was killed by Shem's like you, my cousin raped by an Arl's son! I lost all but two of my comrades to darkspawn and have a price on my head! I do not know loss? YOU do not know loss! You speak like your son is dead, he isn't! I am doing my very best to save you and all you can do is insult me when my life is hard enough."  
>Kallian pulled away and moved to the corner, putting her gloves back on, when the door burst open and one of Arl Eamon's knights ran in.<p>

"Kallian! Two boats approaching on the lake!" She simply stared at him and he elaborated. "They have the symbol of the Circle of Magi on them." Kallian was out the door in seconds, Dane and Teagan on her heels. On the run down Teagan looked over at Kallian and saw that she was crying. When they reached the town the second boat had docked and the Wardens and all of their companions was disembarking. Kallian sped up and ran straight towards Aeden.

"AEDEN!" She cried. He turned and she jumped up, latching herself around him in a hug. The young man stumbled and returned the hug.

"Kal! Everything alright here? We brought the mages! You missed out on all the fun, the tower was overrun with demons and dead things! Lots of stuff to chop into pieces," Aeden said this all very quickly but Kallian seemed to catch it all and responded speaking almost as fast.

"Everything is fine, and I'm very glad you brought the mages, the sooner we shut up that Orlesian the better. The tower was overrun? Oooh I'll need a full story later but right now, up to the castle. Look, the mages are already heading up. Say, who's that?" Aeden looked at who Kallian was pointing at and saw Wynne standing behind them with a bemused look on her face. Aeden sighed and waved her over.

"Kallian, this is Wynne. Wynne, this is Kallian," he said looking put out at having to make introductions. Wynne gave a grandmotherly smile and Kallian raised an eyebrow.

"So you are Kallian, I've heard a lot about you young lady. I hope to get to know you better while traveling." Kallian wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

"You don't want to get to know me lady," she said before stomping off to help one of the mages with a crate. Aeden watched as the blonde mage flirted with Kallian and she rolled her eyes at him, telling him to mind his own business or she would rip out his earring. Wynne also watched and frowned at the small elf.

"Is she always so… Prickly?" Aeden sighed and nodded.

"The only people she isn't like that with are Alistair, Zevran and I. She's had a rough time of it recently, we both have." They laughed as the blonde mage trailed after Kallian, watching her backside as she carried a crate up the hill towards the castle. Patting Wynne on the shoulder Aeden smiled.

"Come on; let's get up there and save that little boy." He went and followed the rest of the group leaving a meditative Wynne to follow.

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><p>Well, that's it for now. I am sooooo sooooo sorry about the lack of updates. I have no reasons, just apologies. Three guesses as two who that flirty blonde mage is and the first two guesses don't count. Let me know what you think. Definitely not my best work, that's for sure, but I feel terrible about not updating.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

Hello everyone. Wow, years have passed and I finally realized I left you all hanging. In the time that has gone by my life has become remarkably different. I am finally here to attempt to finish what I started. Be warned I am doing this without a beta and spell check. If my grammar and spelling seem a bit off, I apologize. And now, without further ado, I present the next chapter of Al, Kal and the other warden.

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><p>Kallian stared at Wynne's form as the older mage writhed on the floor in front of the fireplace of Redcliffe castle. Glancing over at Aeden, she saw his nervousness written clearly on his face, it probably mirrored her own. Reaching over the small elf grabbed the other wardens hand.<p>

"Hey, this will work." She said with a grim smile. He nodded, and glanced at the mage on the bedroll. Aeden sighed, and looked back at Kallian.

"This better work, because if it doesn't we're going to be in trouble" he mused with a frown. Kallian glanced at the group gathered behind them and chuckled, looking at Morrigan, who seemed rather put out at not being chosen for this task. She nudged Aedens shoulder, and pointed at the apostate.

"We can try offering Morrigan as a slave, and see if that appeases the demon." She said with a small giggle. Aeden laughed lightly along with the elf, and they drew the attention of Teagan. He stared at the wardens, shaking his head.

"You two do seem to find humor in every situation," the lord said, gesturing to the grim scene around them. "May I ask what is so amusing?"  
>Kallian gestured behind them at Morrigan and Teagan looked taken aback, having not seen the scantily clad mage before. He raised his eyebrows and she giggled.<p>

"We said if all else fails we can give her to the demon as a peace offering." Aeden explained, as Kallian was still giggling, thus unable to talk. Teagan smiled at them, and shook his head. A gasp from the corner of the room made them all look up and they all turned to stare at Wynne, who seemed to be coming out of the trance that she had been in. The older mage opened her eyes, and said the words they had all been waiting to hear for the last hour and a half.

"The demon is defeated, the child will once more be himself."

* * *

><p>Kallian was seeing the mages off as they went back across the lake, and trying to avoid that stupid blonde mage. What had been his name? She shook her head, and helped one of the older mages climb into the boat, it wasn't like she would ever have to put up with that idiot mage ever again. She shoved the last boat out, and turned to head back to the castle. She smiled, and thought about what they managed to accomplish here in Redcliffe, yeah sure, there was still a lot to do, but they would work it out. As she passed through the gate into the courtyard Ser Perth ran over to the small elf.<p>

"Kallian, I was sent to fetch you! Bann Teagan has requested your presence upstairs, in Arl Eamon's room." Kallian just nodded, to tired for a lot of conversation. She dashed up the stairs, and walked into the room where she knew Arl Eamon slept. As she walked in Teagan smiled at her, and Isolde gave her a withering glare. She nodded to Aeden and Alistair, who were also in the room, and waited for Teagan to speak. The Bann sighed, and rubbed his face.

"So, it is over. Connor is his old self, and does not seem to remember anything, which is a blessing. I suppose we will need to send him to the Circle of Magi's tower for training, once the war is over. It's so odd to think of the boy as a mage, of all things." Teagan sighed and looked over at his brother. "Eamon has much to mourn and rebuild, should he recover. But at least he can be thankful that both his son and wife are safe." He looked pointedly at Isolde, who got the message quickly. The Orlesian woman looked put out, but spoke up none the less, speaking only to Aeden and Alistair.

"I owe you my deepest thanks. I had nearly... I scarcely believe Connor is the boy he once was." Kallian started to ignore the conversation and look around the room as the discussion of the stupid little mage they found in the prison cells came about. She really didn't care if they were glad she killed him or not. She thought that after everything he had brought upon them he deserved to die. She vaguely heard Isolde shout something about some urn, but was brought back into the conversation when the word Denerim entered the conversation. Her head snapped up and she stared, wide eyed, at Teagan.

"What about Denerim?" she asked, her voice faint. Teagan frowned and noticed how pale the small elf had gotten. Naturally Isolde didn't notice a thing, and kept going.

"I was saying, that brother Genitivi lives in Denerim and if you are to find the urn, start with him," the insufferable woman said. It got painfully quiet in the room, and Kallian turned to the other wardens with wide eyes.

"I... I suppose while the two of you go there, Zevran, Sten and I can go to the forest and look for the Dalish." The poor elf said softly. Alistair nodded, and Aeden rested a hand on Kallians shoulder, but Isolde just kept going.

"No! You must all try to find the urn, it is the only way Eamon may awaken! You must go to Denerim!" Teagan tried to hush the woman but she spoke before he could. Kallian face the Guerrins, tears threatening to spill.

"No, I will not go to Denerim. I will never step foot in that city, or I will come out of it a head shorter, and I really don't think I need help with the whole short thing. So I will lead a group to the forest, and be a Grey Warden, and these two will take the others and try to save your husband. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to alert my people that we move out at dawn." The small elf stomped out of the room, leaving behind the bewildered nobles, and the two male wardens. With a sigh, Alistair excused himself to go and do Maker knows what while Aeden explained. The poor warden sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Isolde one day you should try to learn some tact." Aeden said, his voice hard. Teagan frowned and gestured after Kallian.

"May I ask what that was about? She is normally so collected." The Bann asked quietly, concern in his eyes. Aeden saw that Teagan was genuine in his concern, and sighed once more.

"It is not truely my tale to tell, but I will tell you this. Kallian has been banned from ever entering Denerim again on pain of death."

* * *

><p>Kallian stomped through the halls, looking for a certain Antivan. When she found the crow, she realized he was in the larder. She grinned when she walked in, realizing that he was raiding the palaces wine stores as well as their cheese. Zevran smiled as she entered his sanctuary and nodded.<p>

"You know, my dear, these nobles have a very fine taste in wine. Very expensive. They will miss it dearly I'm sure." He said to Kallian. She grinned and walked up to him, taking his glass and downing it in one large gulp. He looked affronted and started to protest at the treatment of something so fine and she cut him off.

"Trust me, after the meeting I just had I need it." Zevran stared at her and grinned wickely.

"Well my dear, I suppose the party has just begun!"

* * *

><p>That is all I have in me at the moment, though I shall try to write more. I know, it wasn't very humorous, but its a pretty depressing time in the game. hopefully the next chapter will be better - Alasse<p> 


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